The Secret I Tried to Tell You
by MarryTheNight25
Summary: Melissa Mercer is a single, hard working mom struggling to deal with her rebelling ten year old daugter Brooke. As Brooke continues to test her mom's limits, finding a new love in wrestling, she quickly feels a connection to CM Punk...Could he possibly be the father she's never known about, and if so, how receptive will Punk be to the idea of fatherhood?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so that new story I promised to post a week or so ago, I'm finally getting around to it :) My bad, this past week has been non-stop crazy and I haven't had time to do much more then eat, sleep and work...boo to adulthood :/**

**Anyway, this idea has been done before, but I'm trying to put my own spin on it...I was watching Parenthood a few weeks ago and the wheels started turning and ta-da half a story written in less then a week, gotta love when that happens :) Please let me know what you think, feedback is super important and I need to know you want more of this seeing now I'm doing double duty with this story and _Something About You_ (more of that will be posted later this week)...enough of my rambling, enjoy my new brain child!**

* * *

_Stripped down to just underwear, lips on skin, hands roaming up and down; there was little left to the imagination. Melissa closed her eyes as she felt his lips on her neck, the warmth between her thighs increasing as his teeth nibbled her ear. The moment was just as she imagined her first time to be and as their eyes met, she knew he was the one._

_"Are you sure about this Mel?" She nodded unable to find the words. He took the nod as hesitation at first, but as her thumbs looped into her panties, he took it as the go ahead helping her slide the lace material down her thighs before discarding it with the rest of the clothes on the floor. Melissa took a deep breath as he positioned himself between her legs knowing there was no going back after this, but she wanted her first time to be with someone she loved and trusted; there was no one better then her best friend of the last five years._

_He noticed her wince upon him entering her and debated pulling out and forgetting the whole thing, but after a few deep breaths she bucked her hips showing she wanted him to continue. After a few minutes her trembling nerves were replaced with moans and groans of pleasure; she pulled him close to her, their lips crashing together, as her first sex induced orgasm shook her body. The increased sensitivity of the first one helped to bring on a second followed by a third before they both collapsed, sweat glistening on their bodies._

_Melissa laid staring at the ceiling as he disposed of the condom. Despite his earlier objections to this scenario, he was glad he gave into her. Laying back on the bed, he pulled her into his nook kissing the top of her head. Running his hand up and down her back as she rested in his arms, he couldn't resist saying what he said, "I love you Mel…"_

_ Melissa couldn't help but smile as she closed her eyes quickly falling into a deep sleep._

* * *

Melissa woke up at 6:45 and sighed; as usual she was up before her 7AM alarm, but seeing she had both herself and her daughter Brooke to get ready for the day she didn't attempt going back to sleep. Heading down the hall to her daughter's bedroom, she walked in opening the curtains and letting in the bright California sun. Brooke groaned putting a pillow over her head in an attempt to get just five more minutes, but her mom wasn't having it.

"Rise and shine sleepy head! We've both got a big day today, so let's get moving; breakfast in thirty minutes." Brooke glared at her mom wondering just where she got so much happiness first thing in the morning, but rolled out of bed not wanting to face her wrath in ten minutes. Melissa smiled at her ten year old seeing more of herself everyday; she hadn't always been a morning person, but raising a child on your own while going to school full time and working, you learn to be happy on very little sleep.

Within twenty minutes, Melissa was out of the shower and dressed for her big interview. She'd been in the running for a promotion for some time and was finally being given the chance to show what she had to the big execs. While her nerves threatened to get the best of her, she thought of the opportunity this would provide for her and Brooke; granted they lived comfortably right now, but this promotion would provide an even better life for both of them.

Melissa put the finishing touches on her hair realizing it was almost 7:40, which meant she had ten minutes to get Brooke in line and both of them out the door so neither of them would be late…again. As much as they tried, the Mercer girls were rarely on time and in the event that they were, one of them always forgot something.

"Brooke, you've got ten minutes!" Melissa planned to make a healthy, well balanced breakfast every morning, but reaching for the pop tarts she was once again reminded that she couldn't do it all. Brooke came trouncing down the stairs in her usual outfit of choice, jeans, a Batman T-shirt and high top sneakers. Her beautiful brown hair was a ratted mess on top of her head, showing she had skipped brushing it again. Melissa let out a sigh not wanting to have the same argument over her appearance again, instead just handing her a pop tart and grabbing her briefcase.

On the way to South Bend Elementary, Brooke sat with her iPod headphones in her ears giving Melissa the idea that she was still upset over their disagreement the night before. Brooke, in all of her girly rebellion, had fallen victim to a recent wrestling obsession thanks to her friend Jessica's big brother Nick. Nick was an amateur wrestler and against Melissa's better judgment, she'd allowed her daughter to attend an independent wrestling show. Since then, she'd become addicted as they fought over watching WWE Monday Night Raw over Melissa's choice of The Bachelor. Brooke always won out in the end as Melissa retreated to the kitchen to work on work related things. She hated professional wrestling, something Brooke didn't understand and never would.

* * *

_Brooke had been so excited when her mom came home barely waiting for her to come through the door before knocking her over with a hug. Melissa wasn't expecting the wave of affection, especially since any kind of affection had lessened since Brooke hit double digits._

_"Mom you won't believe what happened today!" Melissa smiled seeing how excited she was, something she hadn't seen in a long time._

_"Did you meet a cute boy?"_

_"Seriously, that's gross! No, I was talking to Jessica at lunch and Nick has a tryout with the WWE…" Melissa walked toward the kitchen rolling her eyes; she really didn't understand why anyone pursued a career in the sports entertainment business. The idea of being away from everything and everyone for 300 plus days was ridiculous._

_"Good for him, so what's so exciting?" Brooke rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh. She didn't understand why her mom hated wrestling so much. The claim that is was fake never held up, seeing an episode of Raw was just as scripted as her beloved Bachelor, something Brooke pointed out on a regular basis._

_"Mom this is a big deal! Anyway, he has a dark match on Raw next month and Jess's family got a ticket for me. It's in San Jose, can I please go mom? Please! Please! Please! I promise to keep my room clean and I'll even eat my brussels sprouts!" The minute the words sunk in, Melissa started shaking her head._

_"Nope, sorry, not this time."_

_"What? Why not? Give me one good reason!"_

_"I'll give you two; first off San Jose is an hour away and second off it's a school night. I have a hard enough time getting you up and out the door on time; I'm not letting you go out and about until after midnight on a school night."_

_"That's so unfair! I'll be with Jessica's family; I could probably stay at her house." Melissa took a deep breath knowing she had to stay firm on her decision; it wasn't easy being both the good cop and the bad cop, the mom and the dad, but she had to stick to her guns._

_"I said no and that's my final answer. Go finish your homework; dinner will be ready in thirty minutes." Brooke stomped out of the kitchen before turning back to her mother to get in the last word._

_"You are so unfair! I can't wait to turn 18 and leave, you'll never see me again!" Melissa leaned against the kitchen counter taking in a deep breath. She listened as Brooke continued to stomp up the stairs, down the hallway and flinched at the sound of her door slamming. She wanted so badly to explain the real reason why she didn't want Brooke going and she'd tried, but every time she stopped herself. Brooke didn't need to know about him, after all he didn't even know about her._

* * *

Melissa pulled into the drop off line at school turning to Brooke and pulling out one of her ear buds.

"Hey!"

"Don't hey me like that, or the iPod is mine. I know you're still mad at me after last night, but I have my reasoning. Anyway, I love you; have a good day at school and good luck on your history test." Brooke let out a sigh as her mom kissed her cheek hoping no one had seen the public display of affection.

With her hand on the door handle, she turned to her mom. "I'm sorry I was disrespectful, but I had my hopes up. Good luck with your interview, I love you." Melissa smiled as Brooke reached over giving her a quick hug. She watched her daughter walk toward the school letting out a small sigh; as much as she looked like her mom, she acted just like her dad.

The drive to work had her thinking about the decision she'd made, wondering if she should rethink things. Brooke knew very little about her father, mostly because she hadn't asked very much; even though he'd most likely be on Raw that night, it's not like he knew who Brooke was, or the other way around. Melissa leaned back against the head rest trying to focus on her impending interview, but thoughts of him filled her mind, something that had been occurring more frequently as of late.

* * *

_Melissa was fourteen when she went to her first punk show with her brother Ryan and his buddies; it was the first time she'd met him. Even though he was five years older and completely out of her league, she was in love the minute she saw him. The long hair, eyeliner lining his deep hazel eyes and the lip ring that he constantly played with had caught her eye, and when he saved her from a possible mosh pit disaster, she'd dreamt about him for days._

_"Are you sure you're okay?" He yelled over the loud music; she nodded, but he still figured she needed a break. "What do you say we go get some air?" Melissa nodded nervously as he took her hand leading her through the crowd to the side exit. They walked back to the car, where they sat on the hood taking in the cool Chicago air._

_"Thanks for saving my ass in there; I'm pretty sure my parents would ban Ryan and I from punk shows if I was trampled."_

_"It's cool; I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Mosh pits are meant to be fun, but sometimes people get crazy." Melissa nodded feeling butterflies flutter; she wasn't sure what to say to him. He was older, more mature and ridiculously attractive, she was never nervous around guys, but she was nervous around him. "So how old are you?"_

_"I just turned fourteen last month…"_

_"Wow, you're just a kid; I would have guessed at least sixteen, you look older." Melissa smiled on the outside, but inside she felt her heart break a little. The fact he'd called her a kid reaffirmed that she'd never have a chance with him. Despite the heartbreaking words, she wanted to keep talking to him._

_"So Ryan tells me you wrestle…"_

_"Yeah, I just started training actually; I've done amateur backyard wrestling for years, but I'm serious about this, really passionate." Melissa raised her eyebrows beginning to wonder if he was delusional._

_"You're planning on making a living rolling around in a ring with another guy…seriously?" He seemed to take offense at first, but shot her a smirk that made her blush._

_"Have you ever watched wrestling?"_

_"You mean like Hulk Hogan?" He laughed rubbing the back of his neck._

_"Honey, the Hulkster isn't wrestling, at least not my kind of wrestling. You should come see me some time; I guarantee you watch me wrestle one match and you'll love it." Melissa smirked before extending her hand to him; while he saw it as a promise shake, she was just looking for another reason to touch his hand._

_"You're on, just tell me when and where."_

_"Friday night at the rec center; I'm wrestling my buddy Colt and I promise you we'll change your mind."_

* * *

**Okay, so I'm sure it's pretty obvious who Brooke's father is and he'll come into the picture in due time...please let me know what you think, feedback is always appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's been another crazy week, but I wanted to make sure I got an update in before the Elimination Chamber PPV...Thanks so much for the eight reviews, twelve followers and five favorites just with this story and for everyone who has started going back through and reading my other stories :) Things are just getting started with this story, and starting this chapter it'll start to get interesting...thanks for the continued feeback and support, I'll try to update again later this week...Enjoy!**

* * *

Melissa parked her car in the same spot as always before getting out and adjusting her dress making sure she looked perfect. She sashayed her way into the building with her head held high and a smile on her lips. Catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror by the elevator, her smile grew; despite the fact she was approaching her 30th birthday and had been through the labors of child birth, she could still pass for 25 easy.

Upon exiting the elevator, she was on the move to her small corner office noticing she had twenty minutes to make sure everything was perfect for her interview. The land of advertising could be cut throat, but she loved what she did putting her creativity to use coming up with catchy slogans and campaigns.

Five minutes before the interview that could possibly change her life, her office phone rang; expecting it to be a work related call, she was quickly thrown into a panic.

"Hello,"

"Miss Mercer, this is Mrs. Golding, the school nurse. I'm calling in regards to Brooke Mercer." Melissa moved to the edge of her seat suddenly forgetting anything else, her mind running wild with scenarios.

"Is she okay?" Mrs. Golding noticed the panic in Melissa's voice and quickly tried to calm her down.

"She should be fine; unfortunately she fell in gym class and it appears she injured her ankle. I put some ice on it, propped it up and made sure she was comfortable, but I think it may be broken." Melissa let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't anything life threatening.

"I'll be right there to get her and take her to the ER." Melissa didn't even wait to hear anything else from the nurse quickly hanging up the phone and grabbing her purse. On her way out, her assistant Alexis stopped her.

"Where are you going? The big guys are ready for you…"

"Shit…" Trying to hold herself together and focus on what was important, Melissa attempted to regroup. "Listen see if there's anyway they can reschedule my interview. I just got a call from Brooke's school; she fell in gym class and might have broken her ankle, so I need to get her to the hospital."

"Seriously Mel, there's no way you can reschedule last minute! If you leave right now then you can forget about this promotion; isn't there someone else that can deal with Brooke?" Melissa pursed her lips; Alexis was a good person at heart, but she wasn't a mom. As much as it broke her heart to pass up the opportunity, she knew her only child was more important.

"Well if they're not willing to reschedule, then I guess it wasn't meant to be." Melissa chose to take the stairs as she did her best running down them in her Payless heels. By the time she reached the car, she was in full meltdown mode; hitting the steering wheel she cursed the fact that she'd never be able to do anything for herself. She flipped down the sun visor in an effort to clear away the tears and caught site of Brooke's school picture. Even though being a mother was never intended to be her main job in life, she felt she was doing one hell of a job.

* * *

Brooke hobbled into the house on crutches, an ace bandage wrapped around her ankle. After six hours in the emergency room, the doctor had concluded she suffered a hairline fracture. The only upside was the crutches were only temporary, something Melissa was grateful for as she watched Brooke almost fall for the fourth time.

Once she got Brooke settled on the couch, she headed into the kitchen with the intention of making dinner. Grabbing the few ingredients she needed for spaghetti, Melissa had just put the water on to boil when her phone rang.

"Hello,"

"Hey Melissa, it's Alexis…" Melissa could tell by the tone of her voice that this call wasn't a good one. She'd hoped the executives would understand her family emergency and just reschedule, but also knew it was a long shot seeing executives had flown in from all five US agencies.

"It's not good news is it?"

"I'm sorry Mel; I explained the situation to Dave and he honestly tried to pull strings, but no one was budging." Melissa swallowed back the tears.

"Well thanks for trying, but like I said it just wasn't meant to be. Brooke comes first in my life, before any promotion, interview…she comes before anything."

"It doesn't have to be that way; nanny services are available and what about her dad?" Melissa glanced into the living room seeing Brooke still settled in on the couch.

"It's pretty much been just the two of us since day one and I like it that way. Thanks for trying; hopefully I'll be in tomorrow, but Brooke has an appointment with the orthopedic specialist at 8, so I'll see what he says and go from there. Good night Alexis…" Melissa hung up the phone losing the urge to cook as she turned off the boiling water. She walked into the living room taking notice that her daughter was watching Raw for the third time that week.

"Hey kiddo, what do you say to pizza for dinner?" Brooke gave her mom a look unsure if she was feeling okay.

"You never want to order out; between the cost and the ingredient list you always shoot me down!"

"Well I'm not really in the mood to cook, so do you want pizza or not?" Brooke smirked as she stretched out on the couch.

"Sounds good to me mom…" Melissa turned toward the kitchen to get the takeout menus when Brooke's voice grabbed her attention. "Hey mom,"

"Yes baby,"

"I'm really sorry about your interview today. I told the nurse not to call you, but she said she had to." Melissa tried her best to smile back at her daughter.

"It's okay; there's always next time right?" Brooke smiled making Melissa happy to have such a good kid.

* * *

While usually Melissa put up a fight to watch anything but wrestling, she left it go as she and Brooke ate dinner in front of the TV. As the third hour set in, Melissa looked over to see her daughter in a deep slumber bringing a smile to her face. After quietly reaching over and grabbing the remote from Brooke's side of the couch, Melissa had every intention of turning off wrestling and putting on something else, anything else, but the sound of his voice stopped her.

Taking a deep breath, she felt her heart speed up like it did every time she saw him on television. Despite being 34 years old and spending the last twenty years getting beat up everyday, he still looked just as good as he did the last time she'd seen him.

* * *

_Two months after their first time, Melissa sat quietly in the passenger seat of his car. They'd gone out for their usual date night, dinner and a movie, but he noticed how quiet and timid she'd been the whole night. He expected it was the beginning of the end; in a months time he'd be on the road with the WWE and she'd be at school. While neither of them wanted to admit it, they knew it would never work out._

_He stopped the car, shutting off the engine as he went to get out and open her door, but she stopped him grabbing his hand. He looked at her noticing the urgency on her face and the appearance of tears in her eyes._

_"Hey, what is up with you?" He turned her face so that she was looking at him, wiping the fallen tears away; he hated to see any woman cry, especially Melissa. "You know you can tell me, we'll fix whatever it is." Melissa started to cry harder knowing there was only one way to fix this problem._

_"I'm pregnant…" His face went pale as he turned away from her resting his hands on the steering wheel._

_"Are you sure, did you take a test?"_

_"I took five, all five were positive and a doctor confirmed it this morning. " Her voice was quiet as she wiped away the excess tears that had fallen. "You don't have to worry about it though; I have an appointment tomorrow morning to take care of it…" He looked at her again and she immediately took notice of the irritated look on his face._

_"What do you mean you're taking care of it? You've already decided? Don't I get any say in this?" Melissa couldn't believe what he was saying; for the last six months all she'd heard about was him heading to the big time and he actually thought there was a way for him to wrestle and raise a baby? She wasn't about to be a full time mother sitting at home with a screaming baby; she had other dreams and a full scholarship that was slated to start the next month. Now wasn't the time for a baby, with her career plans she wasn't sure there was ever going to be a time._

_"Are you kidding me? What exactly are you going to suggest?"_

_"I don't know, but I can't believe you're just jumping to that. We could do this, raise this baby together…" Melissa shook her head; he was clearly delusional._

_"You mean I could raise this baby! If you haven't noticed our relationship has been deteriorating already and seeing I start school next month and you're hitting the road, I don't see there being an us, so your vision of a family is delusional. I'm 19; I don't want to be saddled down with a kid explaining to him or her why daddy isn't around." Before he could say anything further, Melissa got out of the car and ran into her house never taking a minute to look back._

* * *

Melissa paused the TV so that he was standing in the middle of the ring, smirk planted on his lips. She tried to silence her sobs as she remembered him going to her house the next day, but she'd refused to see him. Her mother, under the assumption that they'd had a fight, brought a bouquet of flowers into her room setting them on her nightstand.

"Melissa, I think you should call him…he seemed very upset…" She never did call him because she couldn't bare the thought of seeing him again. Despite making the appointment and paying the money, she backed out of the procedure at the last minute. Even though it would've been easy to call him and tell him she hadn't gone through with it, she knew how hard he'd worked to get to the level he was at and didn't want their mistake to ruin that for him. Instead she spent the next few months hiding her pregnancy from everyone she knew, until she reached her third trimester. Telling her parents brought forward the consequences she'd expected; while her mother looked willing to help, her father kicked her out of the house and she hadn't seen them since. Luckily she'd planned for that scenario and made arrangements to live with her Aunt Rita in California. Aunt Rita had vowed to help as much as she could as long as Melissa enrolled in school and made something of herself. As hard as going to school full time, working and caring for a newborn was, she never regretted her decision and knew she'd never have a run in with Phil Brooks again.

Brooke woke up noticing the TV was paused on the image of CM Punk and her mom was crying. She rubbed her eyes wondering if she was seeing things wrong, but upon a second glance, she saw she was right.

"Mom, are you feeling okay?" Melissa heard Brooke speak and started to wipe at the tears on her face using the sleeve of her shirt.

"Yeah sweetie I'm okay…why don't we get you to bed?" Brooke sat up crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll go to bed when you tell me what's wrong." Melissa managed to laugh at just how stubborn her daughter was; just like someone else she knew. "Why are you sitting here staring at CM Punk?" Looking into Brooke's hazel eyes, the one physical trait she shared with her father, she knew it was now or never. Leaning forward, she pulled Brooke close to her draping an arm around her before taking a deep breath and letting out the whole story.

* * *

**How will Brooke react to finding out the truth? Will it lead to a reunion or will the secret remain? If you're watching the Elimination Chamber PPV, enjoy it, I know I will...Already chose Mr. Punk to take the title back and I hope it happens b/c I'd love Punk to be in the main event at Wrestlemania and get to see it in person! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Seeing I've been slacking and haven't gotten the chance to write any more of Something About You, I figured I'd just update this story again seeing I know you're all curious how the reveal will go...thanks so much for the continued adds/favorites and reviews...very sad Punk didn't win at the Elimination Chamber, but I'm holding out hope for Raw on Monday :) I'll be at Midlife Stadium April 7th and I'd very much like to see the Straight Edge Superstar main event it...then again even if there are other plans for him, he'll still steal the show (sorry Dolph, I heart him too, but Punk was a show stealer while he was still cheering for the Spirit Squad!)...Hope you enjoy chapter 3, CM Punk makes his first non-flashback appearance next chapter, so be on the look out for it...Enjoy!**

* * *

"And that's why I hate wrestling…" Brooke looked at her mom, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Seriously, you hold the Montreal screw job accountable for ruining wrestling for you? Really mom? Vince McMahon said it himself, Bret screwed Bret…" Brooke went on a rant, which Melissa blocked out. She knew she should've told her the truth, but the words in her head wouldn't come together. "Mom, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh…yeah, I understand what you're saying; maybe I'll give it another go next Monday." Brooke shook her head weary of everything her mom had just told her. "Let's get you upstairs, you've got an appointment early in the morning." Melissa folded a blanket setting it on the back of the couch before turning back to the TV where CM Punk's face was still paused. Brooke noticed her mom's hesitation with turning off the TV and remembered she never had answered her earlier question.

"Hey you never did tell me why you were staring at CM Punk nonetheless crying…are you feeling okay? Maybe you should go to the doctor tomorrow." Melissa searched her head for an excuse finally settling for one that she hoped would fool her ten year old.

"Oh I paused it to check something on my phone and I wasn't crying, there was dirt in my eye…"

"Mom you dust every other day and there were tears coming from both eyes." Melissa pursed her lips together before shrugging her shoulders.

"Well I must have missed a piece…besides that isn't it allergy season? Anyway, enough questions, it's bedtime!" Melissa helped Brooke up the stairs before tucking her in; turning off the light she let out a sigh feeling disappointed in herself for the string of lies she had just fed her daughter. It shouldn't be so hard to just tell her the truth, but five simple words, _Phil Brooks is your father_, always seemed to evade her lips at the last possible minute.

Walking down the hall to her own room, she collapsed on the bed feeling completely exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. The events of the day replayed in her head for almost an hour before she finally pushed them aside closing her eyes.

* * *

Dr. Levine held the x-ray up to the light, "Yep, it's definitely broken, but on the upside it's a nice clean break. We'll be able to put you in a walking cast with a boot that you'll be in for the next six weeks."

Brooke let out a sigh, but quickly looked on the bright side. "Do I get to pick the color for my cast?"

"You sure do; girls tend to go for pink, purple and zebra print." Dr. Levine smiled getting an eye roll from Brooke.

"Yeah well I'm not a typical girl!"

"Brooke Marie Mercer!" Brooke looked at her mother shrugging her shoulders not really getting the reasoning for the middle name usage. "I apologize for my daughter Dr. Levine; she's going through a bit of a stage where she rejects anything girly…"

"It's not a phase mom, it's who I am! What is so wrong with me watching wrestling and reading comic books?" Melissa let out a sigh realizing the same argument was being rehashed for the thousandth time. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself to respect her daughter's likes and dislikes; after all she'd gone through a phase of going to punk shows that her mother was less then thrilled about.

"I'm sorry sweetie, you're right. Go ahead and pick whatever color your heart desires." Brooke smiled proudly taking a minute to think, "I'll take bright yellow please, preferably the brighter the better." Dr. Levine nodded before leaving the room to get the supplies he needed. Melissa looked at her daughter shaking her head again.

"Bright yellow?"

"Yeah, it'll match my new 'GTS' shirt that Jessica got me; we have matching ones for twin day at school." Melissa laughed to herself over the irony; if she only knew that her mother was the one that urged CM Punk to move away from his signature Pepsi Plunge and look for something more original. His very next dark match he debuted the 'GTS', a finisher he'd seen on a tour in Japan, and it stuck.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Melissa and Brooke were in the car on their way to South Bend Elementary. Melissa noticed the silence and thought back to one of the many thoughts that had kept her awake the night before; something she was sure would make Brooke's day.

"Is Jessica's family still going to that Raw show in San Jose?"

"Of course, but you said I couldn't go remember?" Melissa nodded keeping her focus on the road while catching glimpses of her daughter out of the corner of her eye.

"Well I've been thinking and you've been doing really well in school, so well you deserve a reward of some kind." Brooke stopped looking out the window instead turning her full focus to her mother.

"I'm listening…"

"If the offer is still on the table then I'm giving you permission to go." Brooke screamed causing Melissa to jump; it wasn't the reaction she'd expected. "Under one condition…"

"What is it? I'll do anything!"

"You need to keep your grades up, keep your room clean, eat your vegetables and be careful jumping around. I don't need any more calls at work saying you've broken another bone!"

"That is multiple things mom…" Melissa raised her eyebrow shooting her daughter the 'don't push it' look, something Brooke recognized immediately. "It's multiple things, but I can do it, I can do all of it." The car stopped in front of the school and for the first time in a long time Brooke was the one to initiate a hug. Melissa smiled as Brooke's arms wrapped around her neck reminding her of when Brooke was a toddler and always got excited to see her mom.

"Thanks mom, you're the best!" Melissa gave her daughter a smile and a peck on the cheek before she watched her walk through the doors of South Bend. It seemed like only yesterday that she'd brought an eight pound, seven ounce, twenty-two inch baby into the world and now that baby needed her less and less.

* * *

_Labor is hard enough for a woman, but bringing a baby into the world with no support system was something Melissa wouldn't have wished on anyone. So many tears flowed that day; some of joy for her new baby girl, some of sadness for the loss of her youth and some of guilt because she knew Phil would have been right beside her, coaching her through if he only knew the truth._

_Melissa sat in bed, her eyes going from the baby to her phone. Even though she'd convinced herself a long time ago that Phil was better off not knowing, she regretted her decision as she looked at the sleeping baby in her arms. She'd given her the name Brooke Marie Mercer; Marie was a long standing family name and Brooke was a constant reminder of her father, a person she'd never know._

_The first six weeks were the worst; Brooke was up every hour leaving Melissa to get two hours of sleep, if she was lucky. Her grades were slipping, her mind constantly wandering; the ability to focus was gone replaced with the noise of a screaming baby as well as the stress of being able to afford that baby. Aunt Rita was the first to realize something was wrong and a doctor confirmed that Brooke had developed severe acid reflux from her formula. The answer was a change in formula, a more expensive brand that Melissa couldn't afford._

_Feeling alone, broke and dealing with a new baby, Melissa spent a number of nights sobbing on the cold bathroom floor wondering why she hadn't opted out of parenthood when she had the chance. At the end of week six she started looking into the option of giving Brooke up for adoption, but one sleepless night her maternal instinct clicked into place._

_Melissa was sitting with Brooke for her 3AM feeding feeling exhausted and alone, debating the decision of adoption, when she looked at her daughter for what felt like the first time. Tears started to fall down her cheeks as she looked at the sleeping angel in her arms; the definition of innocence, and she remembered just why she'd left the clinic on that rainy Friday morning. Brooke was all hers; she wasn't required to share her with anyone else and Melissa finally realized how special that was. The idea of a mother and daughter bonding, with no interruption, made her realize that anyone else caring for her daughter would be a mistake. From that moment she vowed to do everything in her power to make something of herself, to provide everything her daughter ever needed and to be the best mother she could be._

* * *

Melissa was deep in thought jotting down ideas for a new sneaker campaign, when a knock on the door rattled her. She jumped slightly before composing herself seeing Dave come into her tiny corner office.

"Oh, sorry I startled you, but do you have a minute?" Melissa nodded noticing his purple tie; even though it was crooked, she noticed the light shade of purple brought out the blue in his eyes. She shook the thought out of her head as he took a seat across from her.

"What's up Dave?"

"I just wanted to apologize about yesterday; it was unfortunate that we couldn't reschedule the interview, but I hope you understand that I really tried, I tried everything." Melissa nodded giving him a small smile. Dave was one of the nice bosses, one she never minded working with; it helped that he was easy on the eyes.

"I understand completely; like I told Alexis and my daughter, it just wasn't meant to be, sometimes that happens."

"Yeah, but it shouldn't have happened to you…" Melissa's smile grew wider as she noticed the smirk on Dave's lips. "How is Brooke by the way? I hope everything is okay…"

"She'll be just fine; we went to the orthopedic doctor this morning and he said it's a hairline fracture. She'll be in a cast for about six weeks…" Melissa mentally slapped herself realizing she was rambling on; _Duh Mel! Dave was just being nice in asking, he doesn't want to know the whole story! _"Oh my, listen to me…anyway she's okay." Dave cracked a smile allowing Melissa to get a look at his perfectly straight, bright white teeth.

"It's okay Melissa; I hear stories about co-workers children all the time. Some I'd like to skip, but this one wasn't so bad; I'm glad Brooke is going to be alright. Umm anyway, as an apology for yesterday, I'd like to take you to lunch." Melissa was caught off guard for a minute before she calmed herself down.

"I'd love to; should I bring my notebook so we can talk about the new sneaker campaign? I have a few ideas in the works and I'd really like to bounce them off of someone else…" Dave stopped at the door shaking his head.

"You know what save the work discussion for later; this one is just you and me. I'll be back to get you in twenty minutes." Melissa managed to freeze with a smile on her face, but her thoughts were running wild. Had Dave just asked her out on a date? As soon as the door closed, she reached into her purse grabbing her emergency stash of make-up before pulling out a portable mirror. She hadn't been on an official date in almost two years and Dave was quite a catch. Taking a deep breath, she applied her lip gloss and fluffed her hair finishing just as Dave knocked on her office door.

* * *

**So she didn't tell Brooke the truth...to make up for it Brooke is heading to Raw though! Will Melissa finally tell her daughter the truth, or will Brooke figure it out on her own? Chapter 4 will be posted this weekend and I'm hoping to return with another chapter for Something About You as well...I have a day off for once tomorrow and writing is at the top of the to do list ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so chapter 4 and you'll finally get a CM Punk appearance :) **

**Thanks for all the reviews/adds/favorites, I think I say the same thing in every prelude, but I really do mean it...you guys that read this story are awesome :) Enough rambling, enjoy!**

* * *

Melissa stood in the kitchen twirling a piece of hair around her finger getting an eye roll from her daughter who was patiently awaiting her phone conversation to end so she could get her moms opinion. It was the night before Brooke's big trip to San Jose for her first Raw and while she was excited, Melissa was equally excited to have her first evening date with Dave. The two had been taking things slow, getting to know each other with their frequent lunch dates, and Melissa was looking forward to an evening out.

Brooke cleared her throat for the eighth time as Melissa finally realized her patience was wearing thin. "Okay, so tomorrow at 7…I'll text you the address…that sounds great and I'm looking forward to it…good night." Melissa pressed end feeling an ache in her cheeks over the big smile she'd been wearing all day, but she couldn't help herself. Dating had been placed on the back burner since Brooke was born, and even when she did go on a date it always ended in disaster. She had high hopes for this one though and seeing Brooke was getting older, it was perfect timing.

"It's about time!" Melissa looked at her daughter raising her eyebrow.

"Excuse me, but you're not in San Jose yet! Keep that attitude up and you'll spend Monday night in your room!" Brooke let out a small sigh trying to kick her frustration aside.

"I'm sorry mom, but this is really important! Should I wear In Punk We Trust or GTS?" Melissa held back an eye roll as she shook her head; she didn't mind giving her daughter fashion advice, but she had hoped they'd be looking at dresses instead of wrestling T-shirts.

"Isn't the GTS one the newest one?"

"Not exactly, now he has a Knees to Faces shirt, which reminds me can I get my allowance early? I need that shirt!"

"I think the last thing you need is another T-shirt, but I suppose you can have it early; I planned on sending you with some money anyway. I think you should go with the GTS one, matches the obnoxious yellow cast you chose." Brooke placed her hand on her hip not finding her mother's words amusing.

"Everyone thinks my yellow cast is cool…anyway, you don't think that's too much yellow?"

"You'll be fine sweetie…"

"Are you sure because this is a big deal for me…"

"Yes Brooke I'm sure; now can we go pick out something for me to wear? Speaking of big deals, I have a date tomorrow." Melissa smiled as Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Is it with that goofy guy you work with?"

"Brooke Marie that is not polite! Dave is a respected businessman and I suggest that when the time comes for you to meet him you act like the respectful young lady I raised you to be." Brooke saluted her mother before leaving the kitchen. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of her mom dating; granted it was a fairly new thing, but it had been the two of them for ten years and she liked it that way.

* * *

Brooke had never screamed so much in her life, which resulted in a sore throat at the end of the night, but she hadn't even noticed. Just when she and Jessica thought they'd had the best night of their lives, Jessica's brother Nick had a big surprise in store for them…a trip to the backstage area. Adrenaline rushed through Brooke's body as she took in the atmosphere behind the scenes; it was so much more then she expected as she followed Jessica and Nick past the technical crews and producers. In the craziness of everything, she'd been looking everywhere but straight ahead when she ran into something hard stumbling backwards.

"Woah, you okay kid?" Brooke took the hand extended to her noticing they were covered in tattoos; she didn't have to look up to know exactly who she had run into.

"Ahh…"

"Woah, sorry Punk, she's with me." Brooke heard Nick's voice as she looked past him seeing Jessica had a dumb grin on her face.

"It's cool, but you should be careful; from the looks of things you've already got one bummed leg, cool cast though, love the color." He winked as she let out a nervous laugh.

Nick and Punk chatted back and forth as Nick took in any words of advice he had to offer. Brooke didn't hear a word they said despite the fact she couldn't take her eyes off of CM Punk; she thought maybe it was because she was such a big fan, but something else got to her. When he'd helped her up, she noticed his dark hazel eyes, the same ones she saw in the mirror every morning. It could've been coincidence, but something in her heart said it wasn't.

"Well we should get going, these girls have school tomorrow." Punk sent them both a small wave as he turned to walk away. Brooke quickly realized he was leaving and finally found her voice.

"Wait, Mr. Punk, would you mind signing my cast?" He turned around giving her a smirk, which made her think of her mom pausing the TV only furthering her suspicions.

"Sure thing kiddo; what's your name?"

"Brooke Mercer…"

"Mercer huh? Growing up in Chicago, I used to hang out with a couple Mercers." He grabbed a Sharpie from his bag leaning down to sign her cast, but Brooke didn't even notice. She knew her mom grew up in Chicago…was it possible? Brooke shook her head as he finished up giving her a high five. "There you go Brooke, hope your foot gets better." Punk winked again before turning to walk down the long hallway; Jessica nudged her best friend noticing she was in a weird daze.

"Oh my gosh, that was so cool!" When Brooke didn't respond, still staring toward the hallway, Jessica tapped her shoulder finally getting her attention. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost…" Brooke shook her head willing a small smile to grace her lips.

"I'm okay, more then okay; that was beyond cool, I'd say life changing." As much as Brooke wanted to tell Jessica about her suspicion, she kept it to herself. She needed to do some investigating before anything could be revealed.

* * *

Brooke lied to Jessica's parents saying that her mother had expected her home that night. They second guessed her when they pulled up to her house just after 1AM and noticed it was dark, but Brooke got out of the car before any questions could be asked.

Upon entering the house, Brooke tiptoed up the stairs to her mother's room where she found her sound asleep. The whole trip home Brooke had gone over the suspicion in her head and everything seemed to make sense; they were both from Chicago, the last name Mercer and it would explain the real reason why her mom hated wrestling. A quick Google search on her iPod touch had shown Punk entered into a WWE contract right before she was born, so it was possible they were together before that; the only way to prove her suspicions was to look in the box her mom kept in the closet.

Brooke quietly entered the closet getting down on her hands and knees to reach the old shoebox that her mom didn't know she knew about. Brooke had seen it a number of times and always wondered what was in it, but until now she never had a reason to snoop. Upon getting the box in her possession, Brooke felt a bit of guilt creep up on her going through her mom's stuff, but at the same time she thought about her suspicion that she needed confirmed.

Brooke tiptoed back to her room and sat down at the foot of her bed taking a deep breath before opening the old shoebox. Inside she found a bunch of random ticket stubs from concerts and movies, nothing that would prove her theory. As the bottom of the box came into view, Brooke felt disappointed; not only had she not found the evidence she was looking for, but she'd gone through her mom's personal things. She let out a sigh as she pulled out an envelope. Holding the envelope in her hands she said a silent prayer hoping she wasn't crazy. She slowly opened it and smiled to herself; she'd found two things that told her she was right. As much as she wanted to be happy with the discovery, she felt sad that her mom had never told her.

Hearing a noise down the hall, Brooke stashed the box and the contents she'd found under her bed as she scrambled to get under the blankets. The door creaked open, light flooding in from the hallway; Brooke squinted her eyes looking at her mom.

"Is everything okay? I thought you were staying at Jessica's tonight…" Brooke rubbed her eyes hoping that her hoarse voice would pass for a sleepy one.

"Yeah, I just wanted to come home though."

"Okay I just wanted to make sure; Jessica's mom called, she thought maybe something happened." Brooke shook her head laying back down on her pillow.

"No, but I'm really tired…" She let out a deep yawn noticing the smile on her mom's face as she crossed through the room to tuck her in. As Melissa kissed Brooke's forehead, she wanted nothing more then to question her mom, but knew it wasn't the time. "Good night mom; thanks for letting me go, I love you…"

"Good night sweetie; I love you too…" Brooke shut her eyes pretending to sleep until her door was closed again. Waiting a few minutes, she listened for her mom's door to close before reaching under her bed for the envelope. She pulled out the photo taking a close look, a small smile on her lips; for the first time she thought of the prospect of having both her mother and father in her life. Brooke hid the envelope under her pillow as she closed her eyes drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**So Brooke now has proof of who her father is, but what will she do with it? More Punk coming next chapter :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Nice day off today, but I've been crazy busy doing some spring cleaning, hoping it'll make the snow go away and the flowers bloom a little faster :) Anyway, last chapter Brooke figured out Punk was her dad, this chapter she confronts her mom about it...How will Melissa react and will Brooke be properly introduced to her dad?**

**Thanks for all the new adds/favs/reviews...you guys rock! Enjoy, I'll have more for you later seeing I'm on a writing spree :)**

* * *

Brooke rolled out of bed the next morning feeling tired, but perked up remembering what she'd found. She jumped out of bed grabbing a quick shower before getting dressed in her new Knees to Faces T-shirt, smiling when she saw the special autograph on her cast. As she bounced down the stairs, Melissa was surprised to see her enter the kitchen.

"Hey kiddo, I was going to let you sleep in and go into school a little late; I'm surprised you're up." Brooke smiled at her mom as she debated asking the question she'd been thinking about.

"Well I'm up, so I can go to school and you can get to work." Melissa nodded putting down her coffee cup feeling a little disappointed she had to change from her bathrobe earlier then planned.

"If you say so; give me ten minutes and we can head out. Your hair looks nice today…" Melissa smiled noticing her daughter had not only brushed it, but pinned a bow in it too. As she walked out of the kitchen towards the stairs, Brooke blurted out what she wanted to know.

"Mom I have a question…" Melissa crossed her arms noticing the nervous look on her daughter's face.

"Okay, what is it?" Brooke remained quiet, which Melissa found odd seeing her daughter was outspoken any other time. "Sweetie you know you can ask me anything; what is it?"

Brooke took a deep breath dropping her eyes to the floor, "It's about my father…" Melissa's face lost color feeling a large lump forming in her throat. She immediately regretted letting Brooke go to the Raw show seeing her fear had come to intuition. Running a hand through her hair, her eyes caught site of the bright yellow cast and the name scribbled on it in black marker; she knew then there was no more hiding.

"I see you met him…" Brooke looked up catching the glazed over look in her mother's eyes.

"Does he know about me?" Melissa simply shook her head no, which hurt Brooke even more. Her mother had not only hid her father's identity for the last ten years, but she couldn't even go to him because he didn't have a clue she existed. Rather then saying anything, Brooke grabbed her backpack and headed toward the door. "I'll be in the car…" Melissa stayed put expecting her daughter to slam the door, but she shut it calmly making the guilt set in even more. She knew Brooke deserved to know the truth sooner, just as much as Phil did, but the idea of two people she cared about hating her was unbearable.

* * *

The ride to South Bend Elementary was a quiet one with the exception of a mumbled 'I love you too' as Brooke exited the car. Melissa assumed she had so many other questions regarding her relationship with Phil and why he wasn't in her life, so many questions she wasn't ready to answer.

It was nearly impossible to think about work as Melissa's thoughts kept going to Brooke and how she was coping with this huge discovery. She wondered what it was that tipped her off, but remembered reading the story about Steven and Liv Tyler where Liv had met her father by random chance and knew at that moment she was his daughter. Melissa could only assume Brooke coming face to face with Phil, seeing her eyes mirrored with his, was a life changing experience; one Melissa kind of wished she would have been there for.

The sound of the phone ringing brought Melissa back to reality as she was quick to answer it. "Hello,"

"Hello Miss Mercer, this is Principal Stevens from South Bend Elementary calling to check on Brooke." Melissa's eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she wondered just what he was talking about.

"What do you mean check on her; she's at school…" Melissa heard shuffling in the background as well as a few other voices before the person answered.

"I'm sorry miss, but no she's not; we have the attendance report marking her absent and just double checked with her teacher. Were you not aware of her absence?" Melissa started to panic unsure what was going on.

"I dropped her off at school an hour ago! I watched her walk through the doors; how the hell has she just disappeared?"

"You're sure she walked into the building?"

"Yes! I take my child to school everyday and I never leave until I see that she's inside. I don't know what's going on, but you need to find my child!" Melissa was in hysterics at this point, her mind racing as she tried to think of where Brooke could be. The worst possible scenarios raced through her head; had she been kidnapped? Was she hurt? Had she run away?

"Miss Mercer please try to stay calm; we're going to do everything we can on our end. She's only ten years old; she couldn't have gotten very far." While that was the case with most ten year olds, Brooke was both book and street smart. Growing up in south Chicago, Melissa made sure she instilled a few things into Brooke's head just in case she ever ended up in certain scenarios.

"I'm leaving work right now…" Melissa hung up the phone and ran out of her office; she didn't bother to tell Alexis or anyone else what was going on. Her main priority was finding her child; she wanted nothing more then to hold Brooke in her arms, make sure she was okay…then she would be grounded to her room until she was 30!

* * *

Jessica looked at her best friend wondering why they had ditched school and jumped on a bus heading for Sacramento. Brooke hadn't told her much, but had promised everything would be explained in time; for Jessica now was that time.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" Brooke took a deep breath looking at her best friend.

"So you know how last night we met CM Punk?"

"Yeah, what about it? Wasn't that the most awesome thing ever?"

"For sure, but I realized something…" Jessica raised an eyebrow wondering just what Brooke was talking about as her best friend reached into her backpack pulling out an envelope. "CM Punk is my dad…"

"You've lost it; he doesn't have any kids, Wikipedia says so!"

"I know what Wikipedia says, but I got this weird feeling when I met him and last night when I got home I went through my mom's stuff and found two things to prove it." Brooke handed Jessica the photo noticing her jaw drop open as she saw a young CM Punk wearing a Ring of Honor T-shirt, his arms around the waist of Brooke's mom Melissa.

"Holy crap, your mom knows CM Punk! Why didn't she tell us?"

"I don't know why she never said anything, but it makes sense why she hates wrestling and why she really didn't want me to go to San Jose, but I have a problem..."

"CM Punk is your dad; what could possibly be the problem?"

"He doesn't even know I exist…" Jessica's grin fell as she noticed the sad look on Brooke's face.

"So this is why we're going to Sacramento? How are you going to get backstage and why do you think he'll believe you?" Brooke took a deep breath shrugging her shoulders. She didn't really have a plan, but she knew she needed to see him and give him the note in the envelope; besides the picture there was a three page letter from her mother, one Brooke assumed she'd penned dozens of times, but never had the nerve to send.

"I don't know how this is going to work, but he needs to know about me and I want to get to know him."

* * *

**Brooke is taking things into her own hands, something I'm sure her mom won't appreciate...Will the letter and photo she found be enough to convince Punk, or will he question things? I'll post some time this weekend...thanks :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Update :) Figured why not, nothing else going on today, so I'll toss an update your way...thanks for all the feedback last chapter, I appreciate it greatly! **

**Brooke is on her way to Sacramento to meet Punk, who doesn't know he has a daughter, and Melissa is going frantic wondering where Brooke could be...this chapter everything gets smoothed out and Melissa and Punk will speak to each other for the first time in eleven years...enjoy and please let me know what you think! :D**

* * *

It didn't take as much of an effort as Brooke expected to get backstage, but once she and Jessica made it she knew she had to be quick; the biggest problem with being quick was she had no idea where to look first.

The girls wandered around, running into various dead ends before Brooke finally found the person she'd been looking for. Her mouth went dry as she saw him talking to Paul Heyman and she immediately regretted making the trip to Sacramento. Brooke snapped out of her daze once Jessica nudged her.

"What are you waiting for? He's right there; go talk to him!" Brooke felt a lump forming in her throat as she shook her head.

"I can't…this was a stupid idea, let's go home…"

"Are you crazy? We're both going to be grounded for months, don't make it for nothing!" Brooke knew Jessica was right, but she didn't know what to do. Before she could even think, her bright yellow cast caught the attention of the person she wanted to talk to.

"Hey, Brooke right? I recognized the cast; what brings you girls back here? Where are your parents?" Brooke stood silently getting a shove from Jessica. Even though she knew it was now or never, Brooke was at a loss for words.

"Umm…they're not here…" Punk looked at her rubbing his hand against his beard.

"What do you mean they're not here? How did you girls get here?" Brooke looked at Jessica, who raised her eyebrow; her way of telling her to tell him.

"Ahh we took the bus…"

"You took the bus by yourselves? What would possess you to do that; do you know how much danger you put yourselves in?" Brooke swallowed knowing she had to tell him everything now, or she'd never get the chance.

"This was all my idea; I had to come and see you…" Punk nodded not sure what to expect about the situation, but there was something that wasn't being said.

"I think we need to call your parents and let them know where you are; they're probably very worried about both of you…"

"That's why we're here…"

"I'm not following…" Brooke took a deep breath spilling everything out before she could think twice.

"You're my father…" Punk pursed his lips before letting out a little laugh, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry kiddo, but that's not possible…"

"But it is; I felt it last night and my mom confirmed it…plus I found this." Brooke handed him the photo noticing his face go pale. He cleared his throat not saying anything, instead just taking her hand.

"Come with me…" Brooke and Jessica followed Punk down the hallway to an empty room before he closed the door behind them. "Where did you get this?"

"A shoebox in my mom's closet; she doesn't know I took it…there's something else too." Brooke reached into her backpack pulling out the envelope with the three page letter handing it to Punk; he took it still unsure what to think, but knew there was a good chance the kid wasn't lying. The photo was a blast from the past, one taken eleven years ago before life got in the way and everything became complicated. Punk reached into his pocket pulling out his phone and handing it to Brooke.

"You girls better call your parents and let them know where you are; I'll be right back." Punk walked out of the room as he ran his hand over his head, pacing the hallway; once he got a grip, he sat down to look at the letter.

* * *

Melissa and Sandy, Jessica's mother, sat silently in the principal's office. Both mothers had made a list of possible places their daughters could've disappeared to and nothing had turned up. Melissa had never been more concerned in her life and the fact that Brooke had dragged Jessica into the situation made her feel worse. She rubbed her hands over her face trying to hold back the rollercoaster of emotions going through her body.

It wasn't like Brooke to run away and Melissa wished at that moment she would've bought her a phone when she begged for one; at the time it was a ridiculous idea, but now it would've come in handy.

"I'm going to get a cup of coffee, do you want anything?" Sandy interrupted Melissa's thoughts as she shook her head checking her phone for the hundredth time and letting out a sigh as she saw nothing. Melissa started to feel angry wondering just where the hell her daughter had gotten to.

Getting up to stretch her legs and start another round of pacing, Melissa was surprised when her phone rang; she didn't recognize the number, but figuring the circumstances she answered it anyway. "Hello,"

"Mom…it's me…" Melissa let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed in a chair, tears coming to her eyes.

"Where are you; is Jessica with you?"

"Yeah Jess is here and we're in Sacramento…"

"What in God's name are you doing there?" Melissa rubbed her temples trying to keep calm, curious just what her daughter's response would be.

"I'm with my dad…" Melissa's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open; despite everything she never thought Brooke would seek out her father. If anything she expected they'd have a conversation, she would tell Phil and things would go from there.

"Oh Brooke, why didn't you tell me you wanted to meet him? This was not the way to go about this! Do you know how dangerous this stunt was? Do you know how worried I've been?" Brooke felt guilty realizing just how stupid her idea had been, but before she could apologize, Phil came back in the room.

"Is that your mom on the phone?" Brooke nodded handing over the phone as he extended his hand.

"Mel, it's me…" Melissa felt sick to her stomach hearing his voice; he knew, it wasn't a secret, and she was sure she'd hear about it. "The girls are okay and if it's alright I'll just bring them home when the show is over; there's plenty of room on the bus."

"Ahh yeah I guess that'll be fine…"

"Good because I think we need to talk; we should be at your place around ten."

"I'll see you then and I'm sorry about all of this…" Punk pursed his lips wondering just what she was apologizing for; leaving him responsible for two ten year old girls or forgetting to tell him he had a ten year old daughter.

"Yeah, well we'll discuss it later, but I wanted to make sure you knew where Brooke was so you didn't worry."

"Thanks; I'll see you later." Punk hung up the phone not saying anything further instead turning his attention to the two girls sitting on a bench before him. "Here's the deal, you've gotten yourselves in enough trouble today, so I suggest you stay with me. First things first, are you two hungry?" Brooke glanced at Jessica out of the corner of her eye noticing Jessica returning the glance before they both nodded. "Let's go get something to eat then." Brooke noticed the difference in his attitude from before she'd told him to now and wasn't sure what he was thinking; she'd just hoped he wouldn't neglect her because for once in her life she wanted to feel like a normal kid. Granted her mom was great, gave her everything she needed and loved her unconditionally, but she'd always secretly wondered about her father. She hated being the one kid that didn't have a father to take to the father/daughter dance at her school every April and always envied Jessica's relationship with her dad. She wanted nothing more then to have a father of her own in the hopes she'd feel what it was like to love him, and have him love her back.

* * *

**The secret is out and next chapter Melissa and Punk will come face to face for the first time in eleven years...how will Punk react to being kept in the dark? **

**I'll update at some point this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow depending on the feedback I get :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I had all intentions of posting this yesterday, but then I got into watching Raw and forgot all about it...my bad, sorry guys! I hope the wait is worth it and because you were all so awesome with your reviews/adds/favorites, I'm going to make sure I update tomorrow as well :) **

**Planning a late night tonight seeing I finally got an idea for Something About You and I also plan on writing some more of this story so I can keep up my back stock of chapters and you guys won't have to wait a long time for an update...**

**The secret is out; Punk and Melissa come face to face...oh boy...**

* * *

Melissa sat on the couch, staring out the window as she chewed her fingernails to the bit. Chewing her nails was a bad habit she'd kicked years ago, but when a stressful situation came about she found herself starting again and couldn't stop.

It was currently 9:45 and Melissa hadn't been able to sit still for the past hour. She was sick to her stomach thanks to the fear of the unknown; Phil had every right to be angry with her, it wasn't like she forgot to give him a message, she'd lied to him for the past ten years withholding the vital information that he had a daughter. He had a beautiful, intelligent daughter that looked just like her mother, but acted more and more like her father every day.

Melissa let out a sigh finding herself pacing again. Phil wasn't the only person that could be hurt because of her, Brooke hadn't gotten on a bus and traveled all the way to Sacramento just to say hello. Clearly she wanted to get to know him, something that was perfectly normal for a girl her age. Melissa's heart broke remembering how depressed Brooke had gotten over the father/daughter dance; granted Jessica's father Mark tried his best to fill in, but it wasn't the same, even Melissa could see that. She just hoped for her daughter's sake that Phil wouldn't neglect her; finding out about him the way she did after ten years was shock enough, and she figured his rejection was a blow that Brooke couldn't handle being dealt.

* * *

Jessica was dropped off first leaving the sound of silence to radiate through the bus, but both Phil and Brooke had adjusted to it seeing most of the trip had been silent. As much as he didn't want to stare at her, he couldn't help it; here was this person, a spitting image of her mother, but even he could see in the little time they'd spent together she acted a lot like him. Brooke didn't hold her tongue saying what was on her mind and he was more then amused when she pulled a Batman comic from her backpack to entertain herself on the ride. He'd spent the two hour journey rereading Melissa's letter multiple times, trying to get the idea of fatherhood to sink in while trying to understand why he wasn't told there was another person on this earth that he'd helped create.

"So Punk…wait, is that what I should call you?" Phil rubbed his jaw smirking a little before nodding, giving her the go ahead. "Anyway, how did you meet my mom?" Punk smiled as he retrieved the memory from his head, one that had felt so foreign for him to remember.

"Well I was friends with your Uncle Ryan, we used to go to punk shows all the time and when your mom was fourteen, your grandparents let her come along. If I recall correctly, I saved her from being trampled in a mosh pit." Brooke's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"What's a mosh pit?" Punk let out a light laugh remembering he was talking to a ten year old and figuring Melissa probably wasn't allowing her to listen to The Clash.

"It's hard to explain, but basically a bunch of people dance and jump into each other. It's a lot of fun, and who knows maybe I'll take you to one when you're older." He noticed Brooke's eyes light up as she shot him a big smile, identical to Melissa's smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah why not; you're a little young now, but in five years it's on. I'll have to put some punk music on your iPod first, take off some of that Justin Bieber and One Direction stuff you kids are listening to."

"Eww I hate those bands; all the girls at my school think those guys are so cute, but I think they're gross! I'd rather listen to anything but that girly crap." Phil laughed glad she wasn't into boys; there were enough difficulties in getting to know your long lost ten year old daughter, the subject of boys was too much to handle.

"I'm sure your mom is happy to hear you're not into boys; take it from me, we're nothing but trouble!"

"Actually she's always asking me about boys and trying to get me to wear dresses. She doesn't like that I read comic books and watch wrestling, and I think I know why now."

"Why then?"

"Because it makes her think of you; she makes up lots of excuses not to watch wrestling and I caught her crying during one of your promos. If you ask me I'd say she still has it bad for you." Punk raised an eyebrow noticing the ten year old go about her business after dropping such a bombshell on him. He ran his hand over his face feeling like he was back at square one; he didn't know what to do with a ten year old and he didn't know how to deal with her mother. Before he could think things through, the bus stopped meaning only one thing: they'd reached their destination.

* * *

Melissa noticed the headlights from the luxury coach bus causing her to run outside; she let out a sigh of relief as Brooke got off the bus in one piece. As much as she tried to hold it together, the tears broke free again as she grabbed the ten year old holding her close.

"Mom…I can't breathe…" Melissa pulled back giving Brooke the once over to make sure she truly was in one piece.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine…I'm really sorry for ditching school and making you worry." Melissa could see she felt guilty for her selfish actions, but still intended on punishing her.

"While I accept your apology, you're still grounded for the next month. You'll go from home to school and back home, no phone or TV and you can only use the internet for homework purposes." Brooke's jaw dropped; she'd expected to be grounded, but felt her mom was being unfair, seeing no TV meant no wrestling. She opened her mouth to protest, but Punk chose to throw his two cents in.

"No TV, phone or internet for a month…don't you think you're being a little rough? The kid admitted her mistake and if it means anything she was on her best behavior the entire time she was with me." Brooke looked at her mom noticing the glare she was shooting in Punk's direction, which told her it was time for bed.

"Ahh mom…" Melissa tore her focus away from Phil focusing on Brooke instead. "Why don't you go inside and get ready for bed? I'll be in soon to tuck you in." Brooke nodded at her mom before turning back to Punk; she walked over to him surprising him with a hug.

"Thanks for everything Punk…maybe we can hang out again some time…" He smiled unable to resist her charm as he kneeled down to her level.

"I think that sounds like a great idea. I'm in town until Thursday, so I'll talk to your mom about getting you off of house arrest so we can go check out some comics, maybe take in a movie." Brooke's smile grew, but she felt she should warn her dad before he pushed her mom too far.

"That sounds great, but don't push her…she's giving you the look." Punk laughed already noticing the look; it wasn't the first time Melissa had glared a hole through him. As Brooke made her way inside the house, he noticed Melissa's body language and knew she was pissed; the familiar arms crossed, toe tapping and occasional eye rolling was a dead giveaway that she was irritated and angry with him. While her stance might have intimidated most men, Punk wasn't backing down.

"What are you doing?" Punk noticed the harsh way the words came out of her mouth quickly realizing she was beyond angry, more like livid.

"I'm trying to get to know my kid…you know the one you kept me from for the last ten years."

"That's not fair; I said I was sorry so please don't throw my mistake in my face like that."

"I used to know you better then anyone and never thought you'd pull something like this. You know what it's like having someone kept from you seeing your parents banned me from seeing you for months and you keep my own kid away from me for ten years…ten years! I've missed so much of her life…" Melissa lowered her eyes to the ground feeling his words cutting her like a knife; she knew what she had done was wrong, but there was no taking it back.

"I shouldn't have kept her from you I see that now, but you need to realize I tried so many times to tell you. Even though you haven't been in her life and she didn't know who you were, she's so much like you it drives me insane…" Punk let out a sigh, a small smirk playing on his lips. Melissa kept her eyes downward as she wiped away stray tears; she was taken by surprise as Punk lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye.

"It's going to take a while for me to forgive you and to understand why you did what you did, but I want to get to know my daughter…our daughter. I meant what I said about getting her off house arrest so we could hang out…she's a good kid, you've done a good job raising her." Melissa took a step back, but kept her gaze locked with his.

"Can you pick her up from school tomorrow? I could use the extra time to get a few things done at work, but if you can't…"

"That works out fine for me; I'll get Brooke from school, we can hang out, grab dinner and I'll have her home before 8." Melissa nodded feeling compelled to put a mama bear warning on the table.

"Phil this is a big deal for her, so if at anytime you feel you can't handle it then just walk away. We did just fine on our own before, but keep in mind if you hurt my child I will kill you!" Melissa was deadly serious with her warning, but felt deflated noticing Punk didn't even flinch.

"Calm down mama bear, I wouldn't dream of hurting our child. It won't be easy with my schedule, but I'm going to do everything I can to see Brooke and spend time with her and I'd hope you're going to work with me to do that. I've missed out on ten years and I don't plan on missing another minute if I can help it." Melissa nodded hoping he was being honest and then mentally kicked herself knowing that was the only way he'd ever been. Punk had no reason to lie, he'd never done it to her before. "So let Brooke know I'll pick her up tomorrow at 3; she mentioned she goes to South Bend and I approve."

"What do you mean you approve?"

"I approve of the school; I googled and it seems like a good school. I was a little hesitant given the area you live in…"

"What's wrong with the area we live in?" Punk laughed noticing her defense kicking in; he couldn't help trying to get a rise out of her, it was easy to do.

"I'm joking Mel, lighten up!" Punk pulled his cell phone from his pocket noticing a missed call from Amy; he pursed his lips wondering just how he was going to explain his newfound fatherhood, but then wondered if he should just wait to tell her in person. "Anyway, I'm glad Brooke is home safe and I hope she doesn't do anything stupid like that again, but if she's like me that's doubtful. I'll call you tomorrow after I pick her up; good night Mel." Melissa nodded feeling rocked to her core; she'd never expected it to be easy seeing Phil Brooks again, but she didn't expect it to be this hard either. As much as he frustrated her, she felt the old butterflies flutter when he touched her chin; shaking her head, she figured it was all due to a lack of sleep and bid him farewell in return.

"Good night Phil…" He turned to get back on the bus, but she stopped him. "One more thing…"

"Yeah,"

"No tattoos!" She smirked at him before turning back towards the house; he watched her close the door, the lights going out one by one as he boarded the bus crashing on his bed in the back. Brooke had thought her mom still had a thing for him, but clearly that wasn't the case. She'd flinched when he touched her, where at one time she melted under his touch. Punk stripped down to take a shower hoping it would help clear his head. His biggest focus right now needed to be Brooke; she was a good kid, his kid and as scary and unfamiliar as the situation was, he was kind of looking forward to fatherhood.

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**Despite everything coming on so suddenly, Punk seems to be accepting this unexpected fatherhood...next chapter, the aftermath of the first father/daughter outing...Punk does something to overstep Melissa, will she cut him off? Hope you enjoyed and I'll post Wednesday afternoon/evening...thanks, keep up the feedback :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**As promised an extra update :) Thanks so much for all the great feedback, means so much and keeps the updates flowing...**

**At the end of last chapter everything seems to be coming together, but this chapter there's a bit of a hiccup between Punk and Melissa...hopefully they can resolve it and figure out the best way to co-parent for Brooke's sake...also another flashback this chapter where we find out more about the beginnings of Punk and Melissa's relationship and her brother...enjoy!**

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Melissa was sitting in the kitchen working on rough sketches for the big sneaker campaign at 8:15; she let out a sigh, Phil was late and hadn't even called. She clicked her pen against the table debating if she should call, but didn't want to interfere on the father/daughter bonding taking place, however she had decided if Brooke wasn't home by 8:30 she would call him and if she wasn't home by 9, the police were getting involved. Luckily, Brooke came floating into the house wearing the biggest grin Melissa had seen in some time at exactly 8:28.

"Sorry we're late, we lost track of time." Melissa looked up swallowing hard noticing her ex leaning against her kitchen counter; a site she never thought she'd see.

"It's alright, but next time if you could call or text that would be nice. Did you have fun?" Melissa noticed the mischievous grin on her daughter's face raising an eyebrow wondering just what was up.

"We sure did…" Brooke looked from her mom, to her dad and then back to her mom. "We went to the comic book shop, and then we had pizza for dinner and ice cream for dessert…oh and guess what I got today?"

"What?" Melissa figured Phil had made Brooke's day with the newest Batman comic, maybe he threw in an action figure; she was not expecting to see what Brooke showed her. "I finally got an iPhone! Isn't that awesome mom?" Melissa's jaw dropped; while she was trying to be happy for Brooke, she was also trying not to glare at Phil.

"That's great…" Melissa chewed her lower lip deciding to quickly change the subject and send her daughter upstairs; Phil took notice that Melissa wanted to partake in an adult conversation and cut in.

"Hey kiddo, why don't you go upstairs and get your stuff ready for school tomorrow; I want to talk to your mom about something." Brooke's smile faltered slightly; she'd had such a great day with her dad, she hated to see him go.

"Okay…will I see you tomorrow?"

"I hope so; that's what I need to talk to your mom about, so we can figure out a schedule. Remember you can call and text me anytime you need me, I'll answer regardless what time it is." Phil smirked noticing Brooke's big smile appear again.

"Good night Punk, thanks for a great day…" Punk leaned down giving Brooke a big hug and a kiss on top of her head before watching her skip towards the stairs; even though she knew it was stupid, Melissa felt a tinge of jealousy. Once they were both sure Brooke was in her room, Melissa let go of her thoughts.

"You bought a ten year old an iPod? What the hell were you thinking?" Phil rolled his eyes figuring she'd react this way, but it was his kid too and if he wanted to buy her something he would.

"What's the big deal? We were talking over dinner and she said she wanted a phone for her birthday; seeing I've missed ten birthdays I figured it was the least I could do! Besides I feel better knowing my kid has a direct line to me if she needs me; we discussed responsibility and agreed on a few ground rules." Melissa shook her head feeling a headache coming on. Phil let out a frustrated sigh; he'd hoped Melissa would make this process easy, but so far she was just being difficult.

"Look if it's such a big deal then I'll talk to her and take the phone back…"

"No, don't do that…if you talked to her about responsibility and gave her some ground rules then we'll see how it goes. It was something she's been asking for, and despite being ten she's very mature for her age."

"I've noticed…" Phil was quiet for a minute as he thought about what he was about to say, but it was something that needed to be said. "Mel you've done an amazing job with her; she's a really great kid, but I'm hoping you're going to let me step in and help you out. I know I can't be there all the time, but I'm going to try my damndest to work with the office and get some time off. Brooke needs her father in her life and honestly after today I realized I need her too."

Melissa let out a sigh knowing what he said was right; Brooke did need her dad, and Phil deserved to get something after losing out on the last ten years. "I'm really trying, but she's been all mine for all this time, so the idea of sharing her isn't easy for me."

"Is that why you did it?"

"Did what?"

"Is that why you didn't tell me? After Ryan died you always said there was something missing, that you didn't have anything to call your own anymore…Brooke filled that void for you."

"She did…it took a long time for me to realize that, but that's exactly what she did. Do you know when you'll be able to see her next?"

"If it's okay with you I can get her tomorrow after school again; I fly out Friday morning for a two week European tour, but I've been promised time off after that."

"It'll be rough, but Brooke understands; as far as tomorrow that's fine, but she has karate at 5."

"Karate huh, she didn't mention that."

"This is her third year, she's a black belt."

"Interesting…it really is scary how much she's like me; today was amazing, thanks for letting me spend time with her." Melissa smiled glad to see she wasn't the only one who noticed the similarities.

"Thank you for accepting her so quickly; a lot of other men would've demanded a paternity test and even then wouldn't have bothered."

"Well you know I'm better then that, besides she has my eyes. Also I meant it eleven years ago when I told you I wanted a family; I realize now it was a crazy thing to say, but I loved you Melissa, like I never loved anyone else…I still haven't loved anyone that much." Melissa felt a lump forming in her throat as his admission echoed in her ears, but before she could say anything Phil was out the door.

* * *

Melissa groaned after glancing at the alarm clock for the twentieth time and seeing it was after 2AM; she rolled over punching her pillow before laying back down, but it was no use, she knew why she couldn't sleep. Phil's words echoed in her head _I still haven't loved anyone that much_; what was he trying to say? She'd been analyzing his words for the last five hours and still couldn't figure it out; in the same breath she'd found it impossible to forget too.

Besides Phil's unnerving confession, he'd brought up Ryan, someone she hadn't thought about in a while. It made her feel guilty when she didn't think about her brother, but with the craziness that came with being a single mom and working forty to sixty hours a week, it happened. She still missed him dearly; no matter how much Brooke had filled the void his death had left in her life, it would never be filled completely, especially since it could have been her.

* * *

_Ryan knocked on his sister's door before entering; he rolled his eyes seeing her sitting in front of her computer, a textbook opened in her lap. Melissa was everything he wasn't, she was a good kid, an outstanding student, everything their parents dreamed he would be, but the bond between the opposite siblings was unbreakable; he'd do anything for his little sister._

_"Hey Mel, I'm leaving for Indiana in an hour; you sure you don't want to come? It's going to be a kick ass show!" Melissa smiled at her brother before letting out a sigh; as much as she wanted to go to the biggest punk show of the year, the pressure of midterms had come into play. It was her senior year and she had to up her game if she was going to get the full scholarship to the University of Illinois._

_"I wish I could Ry, but I have to finish my midterm paper and start studying for my Biology test next week." Melissa put her textbook aside and skipped across the room giving her brother a big hug, "Have fun and be careful! I expect to hear all about it when you get home." Ryan kissed his sister on the forehead._

_"Suit yourself nerd! Gosh everyone is bailing on me, first Phil and now you; it's okay though Elle is excited to go. I really like her…" Melissa smiled noticing the wide grin on Ryan's face as he talked about his newest conquest Elle Peterson; even though she loved her brother he could be quite the womanizer, but she was beginning to think maybe Elle would change that. "I assume you'll be up later, so when I get home around 2, I'll be in to tell you all about it."_

_Melissa finished her paper just after 2AM and couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She had just given into sleep when she heard her door open._

_"Hmm…not tonight Ry, tell me about it in the morning…" To her surprise, the person who had entered her room shook her awake; she opened her eyes to find her father sitting beside her on the bed._

_"What is it dad?" He looked tired; the wrinkles around his eyes more defined then usual and Melissa got a sick feeling in her stomach. _

_"Sweetheart, something happened…" The sick feeling got worse as her father told her what happened; her world turned upside down with four words, "It's Ryan…he's gone…" She didn't know how to react as she sat there stunned wanting to cry, but the tears wouldn't flow. In a daze, she got up grabbing a sweatshirt and her sneakers; she needed to get out._

_Melissa briefly heard her father yelling after her as she ran out into the cold Chicago night, but she ignored him as she just kept running. She ran twenty blocks before stopping in front of his apartment seeing him get out of his car at that exact moment._

_"Mel, what are you doing here?" Phil walked closer to her taking notice that something was wrong, "Are you okay? Where's Ryan; I thought you guys were going to Indiana…" The sound of his name was what finally broke her as she fell to her knees, hysterical pent up sobs finally escaping her. Phil rushed to her trying his best to calm her down and find out what had happened. "Mel, please, tell me what's wrong…" _

_"He's gone…Ryan's dead…" Phil felt like he'd been punched in the stomach; his best friend of ten years was gone. He'd never hear another corny joke, or drive to another show with him; he was just gone at the young age of 22…_

_Phil held Melissa close to him trying to console her, but wanting to ask so many questions. Even after her sobs subsided, Melissa clung close to Phil; she needed the familiar and Phil was as close as she could get to that right now. "How did it happen?" Melissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath._

_"He was driving home on the highway and a tractor trailer swerved into his lane; they think the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Ryan was killed on impact and Elle is in the hospital." She pulled back from him pushing her hair out of her face as a fresh batch of tears threatened to fall. "I should've been in that car Phil…if I would've gone I could be dead right now and maybe Ryan would still be alive…" Phil shook his head putting his hands on Melissa's shoulders._

_"You can't think like that, I won't let you think like that!" Melissa shivered as the cold air blew through her light sweatshirt. "Come on, you're freezing; we need to get you warm…" Melissa nodded; she knew her parents would worry about her, but right now she didn't care. She needed to be with him because he was the only other person in the world that could possibly know how she was feeling._

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**Next chapter: **

**Punk and Brooke have more father/daughter time**

**A rough goodbye that seems to effect not only Punk and Brooke, but Melissa as well**

**Let me know what you think; I'll try to update Friday, Saturday at the latest :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow, thanks for all the great feedback guys :) In the last week my reviews have doubled and I've gotten a bunch of new readers...WOOOOO! (yes, I just channeled my inner Ric Flair) Figured I'd update tonight and I'll try to update again before the weekend ends as a thanks to you guys being so awesome...enough blabbering, enjoy!**

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Melissa's alarm went off at 7AM and she groaned; it was going to be a long day seeing she'd gotten a whopping four hours of sleep. Pulling off the covers, she laid still trying to wake herself up when Brooke came running into the room, her iPhone in hand.

"Hey mom, Punk wants to talk to you…" Melissa took the phone immediately blushing when she realized her daughter had been face timing, so Punk had seen her lacy pajamas and out of control morning hair. She quickly flipped it off holding the phone to her ear catching his light laugh, closing her eyes she imagined that smirk was firmly planted on his lips.

"Is there a reason you need to speak to me at 7AM?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about Brooke; I have a friend that has a jiu-jitsu academy and an opportunity has presented itself…" Melissa rolled her eyes thinking he was already letting their daughter down.

"So you need me to get Brooke from school because you're busy, that's fine…"

"No, you didn't let me finish; an opportunity presented itself for me to go train with him and I told him about Brooke, which led to an invite for both of us."

"I see…so you want Brooke to miss the lessons that I pay for, so you can hang out with one of your buddies who claims to be a jiu-jitsu expert; I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"I totally understand that you don't want Brooke to miss her lesson, but this isn't just one of my buddies; Rener Gracie owns his own academy and he's a third degree black belt. I've done sessions with him before and it's not a joke, so can I please take Brooke with me?"

"Whatever, that's fine with me; if she wants to go then go. I need to get ready for work, so that we're not late."

"Oh you mean you're not ready to go already? I thought that lacy nightgown and bed head you had going on was a good look for the office…" Melissa looked around making sure her daughter wasn't in ear shot.

"Fuck off…good to know you're still a perv!" Punk laughed noticing the playfulness in her voice.

"Only when it comes to you Mel…" Melissa bit her lip wondering if he still found her attractive. "Anyway, I need to get going, but tell Brooke I'll grab her after school and make sure she has her karate stuff packed." Punk hung up the phone leaving Melissa in mid-thought, but before she could debate further, Brooke came bouncing into the room ready for school.

"So did you tell dad I could go?"

"I told him if you wanted to go, then yes you could." Brooke's eyes brightened as she ran to her mother wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Thanks mom, this is going to be so awesome; I'm going to get my karate bag and you should hurry up and get ready so we're not late." Even though Melissa was confused about some of the things Phil had said in the last 24 hours, she was happy to see Brooke spending time with her dad and getting to know him.

* * *

After an agonizingly long day at the office, Melissa was looking forward to grabbing take out and vegging out in front of the television seeing for once she'd have full reign of it. Phil had called to let her know he and Brooke were having dinner with his karate buddy, so she was all alone. She flipped through the DVR clicking on the latest episode of The Bachelor and settling in with her shrimp lo mein noodles; not even an hour in and she was asleep on the couch only to be scared awake by the sound of the front door shutting, Brooke appearing in front of her looking less then pleased.

"What's wrong sweetie; where's Phil?" She flopped down on the couch letting out a deep sigh, but not saying a word. Melissa went to speak again, but fell short noticing tears falling down her face. Without question, she pulled her close; she didn't have to ask, she already knew why Brooke was upset. After a few minutes, Brooke wiped the tears away pulling out of her mom's hold.

"Why can't he have a normal job like all the other dads? I hate that I'm just getting to know him and now I don't even know when I'll see him next; it's not fair!" Melissa felt an ache in her chest because she could relate; she'd felt the same feeling on several occasions.

"I know it doesn't seem fair, but Phil is doing what he loves to do just like I am; unfortunately his job requires a lot of travel and he can't be here all the time, but I can guarantee he'll call you whenever he can and I'm sure we can work out a time for you to call him. He'll be back before you know it…" Brooke nodded letting out another sigh; Melissa hated seeing her daughter so sad, especially over something she couldn't fix. In an effort to get her mind off of Phil's departure, she brought up a different subject.

"So how did the jiu-jumble thing go?" Brooke rolled her eyes letting out a small laugh.

"It's jiu-jitsu mom!"

"That's what I said…" Brooke shook her head before continuing.

"It was great; Mr. Gracie said I have some real talent and invited me to attend the academy on a regular basis." Melissa raised her eyebrows in surprise; she could only imagine the price tag on those lessons. Granted they weren't poor by any means, but the $200 she spent a month on karate lessons put a dent in her budget; she couldn't complain though. She'd always thought Brooke would be a ballerina, but in typical Brooke fashion she rebelled deciding that black belts were cooler then pink tu-tus. "I learned a lot just in the couple hours we were there and Mr. Gracie thinks I'm competition worthy…" Brooke rambled on as Melissa began keeping a tab in her head of upcoming expenses already crunching numbers to figure out how she'd make this work; in the end she'd find a way because it's what Brooke loved to do.

A knock at the door halted their conversation and Melissa got up to answer it; she wasn't exactly surprised to find a very somber, defeated looking Punk. Despite how awful he looked, Melissa found herself happy on the inside; he was upset because Brooke was upset and there was nothing he could do to fix it…he was becoming a real father, the kind Melissa always thought he'd be.

"Hey, Brooke left her bag in the car and I knew she'd need it for tomorrow…" Melissa took the bag noticing Brooke behind her and quickly realized she needed to make herself disappear.

"Uhh, I'm just going to throw your karate stuff in the washer…" She walked into the kitchen turning the corner toward the laundry room, but leaned against the wall to eavesdrop instead.

"I'm really sorry about how I acted; it wasn't nice and it ruined the fun we were having."

"There's no need to apologize kiddo, you're not the first person to hate my job; sometimes I hate it too just because of all the traveling I have to do…"

"Why do you still do it then?"

"I ask myself that a lot, but even though I hate the travel, I love entertaining people. Think of it this way, if I had quit a year ago like I'd planned, I wouldn't have met you when I did and I'd be missing out on getting to know such an amazing kid."

"I am pretty amazing aren't I?" Melissa rolled her eyes hearing Phil laugh; clearly a few days spent with him and her self confidence had increased.

"Yes you are…anyway you need to get to bed and I need to get packed up, but remember what I said, call me anytime of day I'll answer and if I don't I'll call you back as soon as I can. We'll make a face time date and text all the time, 22 days will come and go faster then you think. One great thing you have on your side is your mom; she's been through this a few times with me and she did just fine, so I know you will too." Melissa felt a tear slip down her cheek quickly wiping it away feeling like an idiot for getting emotional over the conversation she was eavesdropping on. "Be good for your mom and keep your grades up; who knows maybe over spring break you can come spend some time in Chicago."

"That would be so cool…" Punk smiled ruffling Brooke's hair.

"Well we'll talk about it when I get back; until then you need to get to bed." Brooke nodded knowing it was almost bedtime even though she wasn't tired. Punk kneeled down pulling Brooke in for a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Can I leave knowing you're not so upset with me now?" Brooke's subtle nod caused a weight to be lifted off Punk's chest, but his heart was still heavy because he had to leave his child who he was just getting to know behind for almost a month. "Goodbye kiddo…"

"It's not goodbye, it's see you later…" Punk laughed noticing the familiar words.

"Your mom used to say the same thing; see you later Brooke, see you later Mel…" Melissa's eyes went wide as she frantically wiped at the tears on her face before nonchalantly walking around the corner.

"What's up?"

"You're still a horrible eavesdropper that's what's up…" Melissa shrugged her shoulders not trying to confirm or deny any wrong doing.

"Brooke, time for bed; I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in." She was surprised when the strong willed ten year old didn't argue, but actually obeyed for once walking up the steps in record time. Taking a deep breath, she turned her focus to Punk. "Thanks for coming back; she would've been okay, but I think now she'll be better then okay. I realize this is just as hard for you as it is for her…"

"You have no idea; I never thought that I'd find out I had a kid on a Tuesday and feel this connected to someone in just two days, but she's a lot like me so it came naturally." Melissa laughed crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh yes that she is; the personality traits she shares with you are the reason we butt heads so much, but she's a good kid and I'm glad to see you two making strides." Phil nodded as an awkward silence fell between them and for the first time Melissa felt the need to touch him, but she digressed as he spoke again.

"I need to get going, but thanks for letting me spend time with her this week and for helping her out tonight."

"It comes with the territory of co-parenting…"

"I'll keep that in mind; good night Mel."

"Good night Phil…" She stood in the doorway watching him walk to his car, an itching need to say one more thing to him, another thing she'd always told him. "Phil…" He opened the drivers side door pausing before getting in, "Be safe…there's now two of us that would like you back in one piece." She caught the small smirk he gave her as he waved goodbye before getting in the car and driving away. Melissa stood in the doorway watching the car fade into the distance; today marked the beginning of what was going to be a very long 22 days for both Brooke and Melissa.

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**Punk is heading back to work leaving his new-found daughter behind...will they both be able to cope? What about Melissa, is the old flame being rekindled? How will Punk tell his family and friends and what will their reactions be?**

**All these questions will be answered over the course of the next few chapters, so please keep reading :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**A little less Brooke this chapter, focusing more on Melissa and Punk...I jumped around and skipped through a few things, but you can fill in the blanks with ideas of awesome times, I honestly was just too lazy haha plus after writing the first part, I got the idea for the second and didn't want to hold off on writing, so I hope you understand why it completely skips over Punk's visit to Modesto...**

**Thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows...so glad you're loving Brooke, she's such a smartass kid, but at the same time she's very kind hearted and you can't help but love her :) Enjoy!**

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Punk let out a sigh as his phone vibrated from his bag, but couldn't resist smiling once he saw the photo message. Brooke had sent him multiple texts a day, but one that always stuck out was a picture of her calendar, a big red "x" drawn through each day as it passed and today marked the last red "x." In just twenty four short hours, he'd get to see Brooke and excitement didn't come close to how he felt. The plan was to spend a week in Modesto before flying home for knee surgery, something he was not looking forward to, but the promised time off was finally being granted; however it came with a cost.

Punk stared at the diamond encrusted title in his hands as he chewed on his lip ring; tonight was the last night he'd hold that coveted title, possibly for the last time in his career. The last 434 days had been a whirlwind, but despite his personal wants to hang onto it, he knew dropping it was not only good for business, but it was best for his personal well being. His thoughts were interrupted by Kofi entering the room, tossing him a bottle of water.

"Still not sure about the final outcome of tonight?" Punk shrugged his shoulders before looking at his long time friend and travel partner.

"The upside of this is that my luggage will be much lighter." Punk smirked getting a laugh from Kofi before their conversation was interrupted by his phone vibrating again. Punk smiled at the text once more as Kofi looked on wondering what was up.

Punk had chosen not to let anyone in on the fact that he had a daughter; after all he hadn't even told Amy or his sisters yet. The words just wouldn't come together to put it out there and it was a fairly complicated story to explain, so he chose to keep it to himself; it still didn't keep others from wondering just what it was lightening his mood.

Kofi had been traveling with Punk for the last five years and knew when it came to the title he had no intentions of dropping it. Different outcomes had been discussed for his previous matches against Ryback and Cena, each time Punk took a stand against the creative team explaining why it was crucial for his title reign to continue. Because of his previous passion, Kofi and a number of others found it hard to believe that Punk was dropping the title so willingly…especially to The Rock who would be a transitional champion with the storyline wrapping up at Wrestlemania and John Cena being the top guy once again.

"What's up with all the text messages? Usually you have your phone turned off by now to avoid the distraction; Amy missing you that much?" Kofi sent Punk a wink noticing the lack of response. "Did I say something wrong? I don't mean to pry man, it's just you've been on your phone non-stop the last month; it's just not like you." Punk took a deep breath setting his phone aside; he figured the story would come out sooner or later and Kofi was one of his closest friends in the company.

"Listen, can I trust you with something?" Kofi looked a little bewildered unsure how to take Punk's serious demeanor.

"You know you can trust me with anything; is everything okay at home?"

"Ahh yeah, everything is good there, but I found out something a month ago and it's pretty big." Punk raised his eyebrows still unsure how to come about telling the whole story and Kofi took notice of his hesitance.

"How big are we talking? Is Amy pregnant or something?"

"No, but there has been a new addition to my life recently in the form of a child."

"I'm not following…is Chalene expecting?" Punk rubbed his hand over his head choosing to quit dancing around the subject and just come out with it.

"I found out I have a daughter…"

"What? Did you cheat on Amy?"

"Kofi you know me better then that, no! Eleven years ago, right before I joined the company I was in a pretty serious relationship. A month before I hit the road, she told me she was pregnant, but said she was getting an abortion, which I protested, but she went and did it anyway…or at least I thought she did. I found out in Sacramento that I have a ten year old daughter, her name is Brooke and I'm a dad…"

"Wow…I did not see this coming…" Punk laughed at the stunned look on Kofi's face.

"You and me both, but she's a great kid and despite just getting to know her, she's a lot like me…so much like me that it's a little scary."

"I'm not sure the world can handle a female version of you…" Kofi laughed as Punk sat beside him on the bench. "How are your family and Amy feeling about this?" Punk's happiness leveled down as he pursed his lips.

"You're the first person I've told…"

"Are you serious? How could you not inform your girlfriend of a year and sisters of this drastic change in your life? They deserve to know man!"

"I know they do and they will in time, but I want to tell them in person; with this job I don't exactly get to run home whenever, so they'll find out next week. My sisters were pretty close with Melissa, so I think they'll be accepting and excited to find out they have a niece, I'm not so sure about Amy though…"

"I have a feeling you might have to throw in some hearts and flowers with that conversation; if anything I see her being pissed off you waited so long to tell her."

"It doesn't help that she's been talking about kids lately and I've shrugged her off…" Kofi shook his head.

"Man you really aren't very good with relationships are you?"

"It's a little rough when your job is the top priority in life and you're traveling 300 days a year; if I could be at home I'd be all for having kids, but I want to be there for everything. I missed out on ten years of Brooke's life and have so much catching up to do; I don't want that to happen again." Kofi patted Punk on the back before heading toward the locker room door.

"Good luck with all that man; you know I'm here if you need to talk. Thanks for confiding all this in me and let Brooke know I'm looking forward to meeting her." Punk gave his long time friend a smile feeling some weight lifted now that he'd told someone, now he just needed to figure out how to tell his other friends and family; telling Amy was something he was looking forward to the least.

* * *

Punk woke up just after 2AM feeling the pain radiate through his left leg; he groaned knowing the odds of getting any more sleep were slim and decided to find another way to entertain himself. He reached for the remote noticing his phone vibrate picking it up instead. Just as Punk had expected he had close to a dozen missed calls ranging from the corporate office, Vince himself, Chez, Colt and Brooke; he felt bad he'd missed the calls from Brooke seeing she was probably worried. They'd discussed the surgery procedure a dozen times, for Punk surgery was nothing, but there was little he could do to put his daughter's nerves at ease. Even though it was after midnight in California and Brooke was most likely in bed, he called in hopes of leaving a voicemail to ease her worries, but was surprised to get an answer instead…but not from who he expected.

"Hey, are you okay?" He smiled to himself hearing Melissa's voice full of concern; suddenly his knee didn't hurt so badly.

"I've been better, but things went well. I just wanted to call Brooke and let her know everything went well; I feel bad I missed her calls, but I was dead to the world, apparently anesthesia does that to people." He heard her nervous laugh wondering just what she was doing up at this hour. If he'd learned anything the week he spent in Modesto was that Melissa wasn't much of a night person anymore; she was second to bed and usually the first up every morning. "What has you awake at this hour?"

"Umm…actually I was just about to head to bed when Brooke's phone started ringing. I debated ignoring it, but she was really worried about you, almost too worried to sleep." As much as she tried to hide it, Punk sensed that Brooke wasn't the only restless one.

"So was Brooke the only worried one?" He smiled already figuring what her answer was.

"Maybe just a little…"

"Only a little?"

"Yeah, this wasn't near as bad as when you fractured your skull; I think I used up most of my worry for you when that happened." An awkward silence fell between them with neither person knowing what to say; Melissa took a deep breath ready to put an end to this conversation. "Anyway, it's late and you should be resting, so why don't you do that."

"I'll try, but I'm pretty sure I've gotten my fill of sleep for the night; let Brooke know I'll call her tomorrow and we can talk about her spring break visit. Good night Mel and thanks for caring even if it was only a little bit…" Melissa bid him good night, turning off the phone and heading to her room.

She laid in bed staring out the window at the full moon wondering just who she was trying to kid. She'd been a nervous wreck all day knowing that Phil was having his knee surgery; he tried to put up a front that it was nothing, but even she knew deep down he was worried, how could he not be. Even Brooke seemed to be more at ease then she had seeing of the four missed calls Phil had from Brooke's phone, Melissa had made three of them. She let out a deep sigh trying to convince herself that it was perfectly normal to care for his health and well being because he was a friend and the father of her child, but as she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if deep down there was a different reason.

* * *

Melissa gazed aimlessly off into the distance as she waited for Brooke to be dismissed from school. She didn't realize just how much she was out of it until Brooke herself snapped her fingers causing her mom to jump.

"Are you okay mom?" Melissa shook her head in an effort to snap herself back into the now before adjusting her sunglasses.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a crazy day…is your seatbelt buckled?" Brooke snapped her buckle into place as Melissa began to pull out of the car pool lane. Within minutes her daughter was going on and on about her day causing Melissa to feel guilty because she couldn't focus on what she was saying; she was too side tracked thinking about an impending opportunity.

"Mom are you even listening to me?" Brooke took notice that something wasn't right, but before she could question her further, her iPhone buzzed causing her to smile. Forgetting all about her mom's current state, Brooke was quick to answer the call excited to talk to her dad for the first time in almost two days. "Hey Punk, how are you?"

"I'm alright kiddo, hanging in there, trying to remember how to use crutches again. Did your mom tell you I called?"

"Yeah she did; I'm glad everything went well." Melissa stopped at a red light realizing her daughter had stopped talking to her and was now on the phone, most likely with the person she needed to talk to.

"Is that your dad?" Brooke nodded feeling irritated with her mom suddenly taking notice in what she was doing; she attempted to ignore her, but Melissa took the phone leaving the ten year old to pout.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but this is important…" Punk was taken back to hear Melissa's voice on the phone, but let her carry on anyway. "So originally Brooke was supposed to spend half of her break with me and half with you…"

"That was the plan; is everything still a go? We're both looking forward to it, so I hope you haven't changed your mind…"

"Actually I was hoping you could help me out and take her a little longer. The big ad campaign I've been working on is closing around that time and I've been asked to fly to New York and present seeing they're going with my idea, but I can't do that unless you agree to take Brooke earlier then planned." Brooke's annoyance quickly changed to excitement at the idea of getting to spend an entire week in Chicago with just her dad; Punk on the other hand was feeling a little uneasy. Granted there were lots of things to do in Chicago, but he wasn't sure he was ready to entertain a ten year old for an entire week.

"Ahh, is there really no one else?" Melissa's lack of filter and full on feelings of anger exploded as she went off; she'd lost out on countless opportunities to further her career because there was no one else and now the one person that could help her had the nerve to ask such a question.

"Forget I ever asked and you know what forget about Brooke coming at all! I'll handle everything just like I always do, but thank you for doing absolutely nothing!" Melissa felt hot tears stinging her eyes as she hung up the phone not even bothering to hear what else Phil had to say. He could easily argue that she kept him out of the loop and she was the reason for missed opportunities, but if Melissa would have pushed keeping Brooke and starting a family, Phil very well could have missed out on the biggest opportunity of his lifetime; the least he could do was return the favor.

Melissa drove home in silence trying to ignore the tears her daughter was crying beside her; maybe she had been a little rash, but the fact that Phil couldn't take his daughter for one week was ridiculous. Melissa took care of Brooke's every need emotionally, physically and financially on a daily basis and never looked for a way out, so why couldn't Phil just do the same thing? Melissa pulled into the driveway and had just put the car in park as Brooke got out slamming the door shut behind her; she watched Brooke run into the house and let out a long sigh resting her head against the steering wheel, why couldn't he just have said yes?

* * *

**Brooke's Spring Break trip to Chicago is off thanks to Punk's insecurities and Melissa being at the end of her rope...can they work together to fix things for the sake of their daughter, or will this be the end of something that was just beginning?**

**I'll update later this week...please let me know what you think :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A long awaited update...apologies for the wait, it's been a crazy busy week and I haven't had a lot of time to write...actually today is the first time I've touched a computer in a week! I'm hoping to cram some writing time in this evening and later this week to get caught up and back stock some more chapters, but no promises...**

**Last chapter everyone is pissed off at everyone and it's a hot mess...hopefully things will get worked out and back on track...enjoy!**

* * *

Melissa sat alone at the kitchen table moving her food around the plate; her earlier outburst had resulted in Brooke locking herself in her room. She didn't want to see or speak to her mother only opening the door wide enough to grab food Melissa left outside. The worst part was Melissa couldn't bring herself to call Phil and apologize; maybe she wasn't right for blowing up at him, but he was also in the wrong acting the way he was. Once again she was stuck in a no win situation, story of her life.

After rinsing off her plate and putting it in the dishwasher, Melissa sat down staring at her phone wondering what to do next. She hated the situation she was in having to depend on Phil to help her out because there should have been someone else. The sick feeling in her stomach arose again as she began to think about Ryan and her parents, the family she no longer had. While her parents had long given up on her, she knew that if Ryan were still alive he would've done everything in his power to help her out; Phil used to be the same way, but seeing the circumstances, he wasn't as willing as he once was.

She was drawn away from her self-pity as her phone vibrated and the very person she'd been thinking about was calling. Melissa took a deep breath before answering, mentally reminding herself to stay calm no matter what was said.

"Hello…"

"I just thought you should know that I just got off the phone with Brooke and I think I successfully talked her out of running away. She's really upset with you…"

"Thanks for calling and reminding me; the slamming the door in my face and yelling was the first hint though!" Melissa's reminder to stay calm had quickly gone out the window as she found herself getting defensive.

"Can you just listen for once? Christ, I can see some things still haven't changed…" Melissa rolled her eyes choosing to hold her tongue and let Phil continue. "Anyway, she's upset with you, but I explained to her that she should be just as upset with me. I shouldn't have hesitated to take her for the whole week and I apologize that I did. I know your job is important to you and I'm willing to do whatever it is that I can to help you succeed." Melissa found a small smile gracing her lips as she quickly swiped away a tear that had fallen.

"I also owe you a big apology; I shouldn't have gone off like that, especially not in front of Brooke, but you pushed the wrong button. As much as I wish that I had someone else to help me out, I don't."

"Jane and Dean not willing to help out?" The tears continued to fall as the subject of her parents was brought up.

"Unfortunately I haven't spoken to them in almost eleven years."

"Really? So they've never met Brooke?"

"Not only have they never met Brooke, my father kicked me out when I told them Brooke existed. I was almost left homeless at seven months pregnant, but luckily I had planned ahead."

"I'm so sorry Mel, I didn't know…god if you would've just come to me…"

"If I would've come to you it could've made a difference, but let's be honest neither of us would be where we are personally or professionally if we would've decided to be a family."

"We can agree to disagree about that, but I know I'm the positive one here…" Melissa let out a small laugh feeling much better now that she'd discussed things with him. "So, are you flying Brooke here or do you want me to fly there and get her?"

"I'll fly with her to make sure everything is okay; it'll be my first time away from her and even though I trust you, I'm still not looking forward to it."

"You'll both be fine; I think you should take a few days off though to hang out in Chicago seeing you haven't been here in ten years. Granted it hasn't changed, but I know you always loved it; it could be a nice getaway…" Melissa bit her lower lip finding it insane that she was considering visiting her hometown after so many years; nonetheless at Phil's recommendation.

"I'll see how things go in New York and go from there, but I'm overdue for a vacation, so I'm heavily considering it. Thanks for doing this; it means a lot to both of us…"

"It's the least I can do and even though I hesitated at first, I'm looking forward to hanging out with Brooke for a whole week; I'm just hoping she doesn't find her old man to be boring." Melissa laughed imagining the smirk playing on his lips.

"I don't think she'll ever find you boring; you're practically all she talks about and frankly I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad jealous."

"There's nothing to be jealous of; you're her mom, no one will ever replace you, but you just have to adjust to sharing her because I don't plan on going away ever." Melissa felt her heart start to race as his words replayed in her mind; she knew he was always going to be there for Brooke, but what about their relationship?

* * *

Brooke counted down the days on her calendar impatiently waiting for March 10 when she would make the trip from California to Chicago and spend two weeks with her dad. Although she was a little nervous about flying for the first time, her excitement overshadowed the nerves.

The night before Melissa helped her daughter pack, double and triple checking that she had everything she needed and then some. Originally the plan was for Melissa to fly to Chicago with Brooke and then fly out to New York from there, but plans had changed. Even though she'd asked the airline every possible question she could think of about a minor flying alone, she was still beyond worried.

"Okay, so do you have your toothbrush, hairbrush and deodorant?"

"Check, check and check…will you please relax mom? It's not like they don't have stores in Chicago in case I forget something." Melissa let out a sigh sitting on the foot of the bed letting out a small laugh that her ten year old was the calm one.

"I'm sorry, but I'm very worried about you flying by yourself and I'm going to miss you a lot; we've never been away from each other." Brooke rolled her eyes hearing the sappiness in her mother's voice, but quickly regretted it when she saw the tears in her eyes. She let out a deep breath throwing her arms around her mom's neck in hope that it would comfort her and keep her from crying; it didn't.

"Mom I'll be okay; Punk is picking me up at the airport, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. He lives in the nice part of the city and he's getting pretty good at this dad thing, so there's nothing to worry about. You just go to New York and kick butt!" Melissa let out a laugh as she wiped the tears from her face.

"I know you'll be fine, but I'm your mom, so it's my job to worry about you. The good part of this is that after my presentation is wrapped up, I'm flying to Chicago to hang out with you and Phil for a few days; it'll be a nice vacation for everyone."

"Sounds great, hopefully it'll help you get your mind off of that David guy…" Melissa pursed her lips; Brooke didn't like anything about David, though she wasn't sure why. The 'boyfriend meeting' hadn't happened yet, mostly because she had been so busy with work recently there wasn't any time.

"About that, David is actually coming to Chicago too. He has a meeting to attend and I thought it would be a nice time for you two to get to finally meet each other. I've already talked it over with your dad and he thinks it's a good idea too." Brooke pulled back from her mother crossing her arms over her chest; she was not pleased with this idea and didn't see any good in it.

"Why do I have to meet him? What if I don't want to?"

"Brooke please don't act like that; we've talked about this before, I make sure you have everything you need and I think it would be nice to have a guy around, for both of us."

"We do have a guy around, my dad!" Melissa rubbed her temples knowing there was no way she was going to win this.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you, especially seeing we both have an early flight tomorrow, so can we please forget about this?" Brooke nodded dropping her arms to her sides. "All I ask is that when you do meet him you are the respectful young lady I raised; also that reminds me please pack your blue flowered dress because you'll need it."

"No way! I cross the line at wearing a dress! I hate dresses mom, you know it!"

"Brooke please don't be so difficult! For once in your life just wear what I want you to wear…the rest of the trip I don't care what you wear, I'm just asking that you dress up and look presentable one night." Brooke rolled her eyes before turning to get the dress from her closet.

"Can I wear shorts under it?" Melissa threw up her hands, "I don't care what you wear under it; just please finish packing." Brooke smirked feeling satisfied that she'd gotten her own way. Melissa thought it was time to get away from her adolescent daughter before she lost her mind deciding there was no better time then now to pack her own bag.

* * *

**Meeting the new boyfriend...things are bound to get rough, but will it only effect Brooke, or will Punk be bothered by it too?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A little filler, but I promise it's good filler...next chapter will have Brooke's arrival along with some more insight into Melissa's new relationship and I'm hoping the chapter after that will feature the big dinner and you'll get to see what Brooke and Punk think about the new guy in Mel's life...enjoy!**

* * *

The next morning was filled with tears and tissues from both mother and daughter, though Brooke wouldn't admit to crying. Melissa saw her off before going to her own gate to await the departure of her flight already feverously texting Phil to make sure he would be at the airport on time and would text her as soon as he had Brooke in custody.

Melissa was lucky that Punk was awake at 5:30AM having already gotten in a light workout and now making breakfast before preparing for Brooke's arrival. Even though he'd known for a month that his daughter was coming, he still hadn't told his family, friends or Amy about Brooke; every time he brought it up he found himself changing the topic. However, he knew that wasn't going to be possible with Brooke being at his house, everyone would want an explanation as to why he was hanging out with a ten year old.

_So her flight is scheduled to arrive at 7:40 your time, but in case it comes early you should be there no later then 7.-Melissa_

Punk rolled his eyes; he knew she was just worried about Brooke flying alone, but he was pretty knowledgeable when it came to the airport and airlines. Seeing he was on a plane at least once a week, sometimes up to three times, he'd say he was more then knowledgeable.

_Mel you need to calm down, I've got this covered. Colt is going with me to pick her up, we'll make sure she's okay and has everything. You just relax and focus on your presentation and we'll see you at the end of the week.-Punk_

_Please text me or call me if you have any issues, she's had quite the attitude as of late and wasn't too thrilled when I told her she'd be meeting David.-Melissa_

_She's ten, I think I can handle her without any problems, but I promise I'll call. I'll call you, don't call us; we'll be fine ;) –Punk_

Punk set his phone on the breakfast bar before sitting down to eat his oatmeal; flipping on the TV to check out Sports Center, he was reminded that even though he'd asked Colt to drive to the airport with him, he had yet to tell him who they were picking up. Finishing his oatmeal, he intended to call his long time friend, but found him at his doorstep before he had the chance.

"Hey Punkers, what's up buddy?"

"Nothing much, but I'm very surprised to see you out of bed before 6AM; I figured I'd have to come over and personally wake you up. Did you have you mom give you a wake up call?" Colt let out a mocking laugh before sending Punk a glare.

"Actually I had a lady friend over, so I woke up early this morning to see her off and figured I might as well stay awake."

"Wow, scoring chicks by yourself; you're growing up so fast!" Colt opened the fridge with one hand, flipping off Punk with the other; he emerged a few minutes later drinking a diet Pepsi and eating left over macaroni and cheese. "Really Colt, that's your breakfast?"

"Breakfast of champions my friend…" Punk shook his head as he loaded the dishwasher. "So, we need to be at the airport by 7:30 right?"

"Actually I think it's best if we're there by 7; it's very important that we're prompt picking this person up. She's likely to start wandering and get herself into trouble if we don't get her right off the plane." Colt scrunched his eyebrows wondering who the hell they were picking up.

"Do you have a grandma with Alzheimer's you never told me about? What's the deal?" Punk took a deep breath leaning against the kitchen counter.

"No grandmas, but I…ahh…have a ten year old." He mumbled the last half causing Colt to cup a hand to his ear.

"I have no idea what the fuck you just said; speak up, not like you have a problem with it any other time." Punk took a deep breath before looking his friend in the eye; he pulled up a picture of Brooke on his phone and showed it to Colt.

"I have a ten year old daughter, her name is Brooke and her mom is…"

"Jesus Christ it was your kid…" Punk stopped noticing the look of shock as Colt stared at the hazel eyed, dark haired little girl on his phone.

"What do you mean?" Colt swallowed the lump in his throat; he knew he should have told Punk about his suspicions years ago, but Melissa had always sworn up and down that Punk wasn't the father.

"Man I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but Mel swore the kid wasn't yours." Punk's eyes got wide as he tried to keep his temper in check.

"You knew she was pregnant and you didn't tell me? What the fuck Colt!" Despite trying to keep his anger under control, his hands were balling into fists as he felt the blood pumping through his body at a fast rate; he wanted nothing more then to lay Colt out on his kitchen floor, but something told him to hear what his friend had to say.

"Punk it was a couple months after you left that I ran into her at the grocery store. She was wearing really baggy clothes and acting kind of goofy, the complete opposite of how she always was, but friendly nonetheless. I told her I was being called up and she gave me a hug to congratulate me and that's when I noticed her stomach. She pulled away and I asked if she was pregnant, she hesitated before saying yes but swore it wasn't your kid and asked me not to say anything to you. I had my suspicions that she was lying, but Mel was never a liar and I definitely didn't see her lying about something that big. Punk I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" Punk felt himself relaxing; he was just starting to get over his frustrations with Melissa and they were beginning to pile back on. She'd lied to him and his best friend; he couldn't help but wonder who else she lied to about it.

"It's not your fault Colt; Mel made her choice to keep this whole thing from me for so long, but the upside is Brooke is coming to stay with me during her spring break, that's who we're picking up today."

"No shit, so you've met her?"

"Yeah I met her three months ago; I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I haven't told anyone. For once in my life I'm speechless, the words just can't come together even though it shouldn't be so hard. I have a kid, I'm a dad; I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me, but every time I try to tell my sisters or Amy everything is jumbled and I just can't do it." Colt felt hurt at first, but he could understand where his friend was coming from. Finding out he had a daughter had clearly flipped his world upside down; he was still trying to deal with it himself, so Colt couldn't be upset that he wasn't sharing it.

"She seems like a great kid and I'm happy I get the chance to meet her; this has changed your life completely, so I think everyone will understand your hesitation to share it."

"I hope so; I figured you'd be okay and I think the girls will be more excited then anything, but I'm worried about Amy. She's been talking about having kids of our own for six months and I've been shrugging her off, so telling her I already have a kid isn't going to be easy."

"It might not be easy, but if she's the right person for you she'll not only get it, she'll step up and want to get to know Brooke. It might take her some time, but I think Amy will be happy about it; hell I am! Do you care if she calls me Uncle Colt?" Punk laughed slapping his friend on the shoulder.

"I think you two will get along just fine seeing you're on the same age level…"

* * *

**Just when Punk was beginning to get over Melissa not telling him about Brooke for ten years, he finds out she also lied to his best friend in an effort to keep her secret...will this effect their relationship, or will Punk be so preoccupied with Brooke and Melissa's new boy toy that he'll just drop it? **


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so this is a really long chapter, one I didn't intend to be so long, but I got the idea for the flashback and it just went from there...you guys deserve a treat seeing you've all been awesome with your feedback, something I appreciate greatly...**

**Continuing to work on this story today, so be on the look out for an update later this week...hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_The eagle has landed…-Phil_

Melissa let out a sigh feeling herself lighten up and smile for the first time all day as she looked at the picture of Brooke and Phil. She was currently in a cab on her way to meet up with David at the hotel, finding herself fidgeting, feeling more nervous then she had in a long time; part of it was because of the impending presentation and the other was her new relationship.

Even though they were currently on the slow track, they'd decided to share a room while they were in New York and Melissa felt more nervous about that then she ever thought she would. It had been a very long time…almost eleven years…since she'd slept with someone and the mere thought of sex had her feeling like a virgin all over again. She'd never intended on becoming celibate, but she also never made time to become serious with a man. Brooke was her main concern, as she should've been, and the idea of a relationship, nonetheless sex, had fallen to the wayside.

Her thoughts were stopped as the cab slowed to a halt in front of the hotel and she took a deep breath before exiting. Melissa was about to step into a whole new world, one she wasn't sure she was ready for, but there was no turning back now.

* * *

Brooke's eyes were glued to the view of the city as she looked on in fascination of the ever changing scenery; Punk caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror and couldn't help but smile. His main hope for the week was that Brooke would come to love at least one thing in Chicago and based on the look in her hazel eyes, he figured he'd already achieved that and more. Her fascination only grew as Punk pulled into the driveway and she took in the site of his house that was nearly three times the size as the one she'd grown up in; slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she didn't bother waiting for her dad as she jumped out of the SUV eager to explore.

Punk let her stare for a few minutes before heading toward the front door, "Are you coming inside or do you plan on sleeping on the front lawn?" She rolled her eyes running past him into the main hallway; she didn't know which way to go as she continued to look on in awe of the large kitchen and the even larger TV.

"This is awesome!" Punk smirked thinking to himself if she loved this she'd die when she saw some of the other cool stuff he had.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room." Brooke raised her eyebrows in anticipation as she followed Punk down the hall and up the stairs stopping outside the third bedroom on the right; Brooke couldn't believe her eyes as she looked around the room immediately running and jumping on the queen sized bed.

"Call my mom, I'm never leaving Chicago!" Punk let out another laugh as he set down her bag and joined her on the big bed.

"As awesome as that would be, I think your mom would miss you. Besides that I'm never home and you can't live here alone unless you intend to pay the bills and I don't know where a ten year old is going to find a full time job that's even going to begin to pay this mortgage. However, for this week and whenever you come to visit, this will be your room."

"Really? Can I get a sign or something for the door?"

"You can have whatever you want…"

"In that case all I want is a free pass to not meet mom's new boyfriend; he seems like a tool!" Punk bit his lip to hold back a laugh; he hadn't heard much about Mel's new man, but so far Brooke had proved to be a pretty good judge of character and her brutal honesty was all too familiar.

"That's not nice, you haven't met him yet; he could turn out to be pretty cool. He makes your mom happy, so you should probably give him a chance."

"A lot of things make my mom happy, most of them are stupid…I'm betting David is stupid." Punk rubbed his beard looking for a way out of this conversation. The truth was even though he had moved on a long time ago, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Melissa with someone else.

"We'll worry about that later this week, but for now let's talk about what we're going to do today."

"Oh, can we go to the Navy Pier? I want to go to all the museums and parks and…"

"Woah, slow down kiddo; you're here all week and I promise we'll get to all of that, but there are a couple people that I want to introduce you to first and there's a particular place we're going for dinner, a place that's really special to me."

"Like Colt?"

"Yeah like Colt…I have three sisters too that will be very excited to meet their niece."

"I didn't know you had sisters; wikipedia does not mention that."

"Well that just goes to show that wikipedia is not accurate. Speaking of that can you please stop using the internet as a guide of getting to know me? I'm right here; if you have a question just ask…"

Brooke's eyes lit up and the game of twenty questions began. Twenty turned into fifty and Punk lost track as all of her questions ran together. As excited as he was to have her around for the week, he was beginning to have a newfound respect for what Melissa dealt with on a daily basis.

* * *

_Ryan had been gone for almost two months and Punk found himself in a dilemma. Melissa had clung to him for strength and support, something he didn't mind, but he found himself starting to see her in a different light. He'd always found her attractive, but when Ryan was alive, she was the little sister, off limits to any and all guys regardless if they were Ryan's friend or not; the more time he spent with her, he began to notice just how mature, intelligent and beautiful she really was._

_On the rare occasion that Punk had a Friday night off, Melissa would tell her parents she was staying at her friend Morgan's house and instead spend the evening having a horror fest with Punk. It was something they both needed to escape the woes of the real world and even in its rarity, they both looked forward to it. One evening in particular, Melissa noticed something was off with Punk; they were watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of his favorites, but he seemed to be in another world._

"_Phil…Phil…" He remained zoned out causing her to roll her eyes, "Punk!" Melissa snapped her fingers finally getting a reaction from him._

"_What's up?"_

"_I was just about to ask you the same thing; are you okay? You're not quite yourself tonight. Do you want me to go?"_

"_No, I'm good, just watching the movie…"_

"_You're lying…" Punk knew he was caught and quickly changed the subject._

"_Are you thirsty because I'm thirsty; I'll get more popcorn too…" He went to get up from the couch, but Melissa pulled him back down turning his face so that he had to look at her._

"_Please just tell me what's wrong; am I being too clingy? I really won't be offended if you want the night to yourself, I'll give you your space." Punk took a deep breath and Melissa braced herself for what was next; she didn't really want to leave, but she couldn't bear to lose him either. _

_What happened next was something she never expected, even though she'd secretly wished for it since she was fourteen; Punk's soft lips met hers as his hand gently rested on her cheek, she returned it with everything she had wishing it wouldn't end, but when he pulled away she could feel a sense of regret._

"_I'm sorry Mel, that feels so right, but deep down I know it's wrong."_

"_I don't understand…"_

"_I want you so badly, but I can't help but think Ryan wouldn't be okay with this. He was so against anyone even looking at his little sister, but I can't be around you without wanting more, so maybe you should go…" Melissa could see the look of disappointment on his face and could tell he'd been beating himself up about his feelings for her; however she knew something he didn't._

"_Before I go, there's something you need to know…" Punk managed to look at her focusing on her deep blue eyes. "Ryan and I used to talk a lot about his friends and he trusted you more then anyone else; he looked to you as more of a brother then a friend and even though he was extremely overprotective of me, I don't think he'd resent either one of us for testing the waters. I understand if you don't feel right about it, but I do; I've been in love with you since you saved me from that mosh pit and regardless what happens between us, nothing will change that feeling for me." Melissa managed to hold back tears as she got up from the couch and walked towards the door all the while Punk sat in silence trying to let her words sink in._

_Ryan trusted him and it only took a second for Punk to realize that if Ryan were still alive he would accept him being with Melissa, he might not like it, but he'd accept it because he trusted that his friend would always treat his sister with respect and love her no matter what. Punk ran to the door spotting Melissa down the street and was quick to run after her._

"_Mel…Mel, wait up…" Melissa quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve before turning to see what he wanted and was once again surprised when his lips met hers. They stood there for what seemed like a lifetime before finally separating._

"_I want to try this, you and me…" Mel gave him a soft smile thankful that something she'd said had changed his mind. "What do you say we finish our horror fest and then tomorrow dinner and a movie?"_

"_I think that sounds like a date, but only if we can go to Dino's and get the Hawaiian pizza."_

"_Dino's it is although the pizza topping is up for debate; I'm sorry, but pineapple should not be on a pizza!" Melissa smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two headed back to his apartment._

* * *

Punk walked into Dino's with Brooke behind him and headed for his favorite table patiently awaiting the arrival of Chez, Chalene and Cassie who undoubtedly would be late. Brooke had settled in playing a game on her phone, which gave him a few quiet moments to reminisce; he hadn't sat down in his favorite booth since his last date with Melissa, ironically the same night she told him about Brooke. Everything had come full circle as he now sat across from his daughter who looked more and more like her mother everyday. Punk reached across the table taking Brooke's phone and placing it with his.

"Hey, I was in the middle of a level!"

"Well it's not polite to text or play games at the table, so you're out of luck! Anyway, do you want to see something cool?" Brooke let out a sigh and he sensed she was bored, but didn't care going on with his planned story anyway. It took a minute to find it, but he smiled once he did. "I carved this into the wall on my first date with your mom…it was kind of a big thing to do back then." Brooke looked at the carving that read _Punk + Mel_ failing to see the significance.

"Yeah…isn't that a form of vandalism?"

"In most places, yes, but here it was the thing to do, still is."

"Oh…" Punk was slightly disappointed she wasn't more excited and sensed there was something wrong; she seemed to be shying away, something he never seen. "Who are we meeting here again?"

"My sisters, well surrogate sisters, your aunts; Chez, Chalene and Cassie. Are you okay; you don't seem like yourself?" She nodded, but didn't make eye contact, "Brooke Marie, what is the deal? You can say you're fine, but I know you're not…" Brooke was too much like her mother in the emotions department; she held them in as long as she could and then would explode all at once, but unfortunately for her Punk could see through the BS and read her like a book.

"I'm just nervous I guess…"

"What do you have to be nervous about?"

"What if your sisters don't like me and they don't want to be my aunts? I don't have any aunts or uncles, so I don't want to get my hopes up…" Punk reached across the table giving her hand a squeeze.

"You have nothing to worry about; my sisters love me, so they'll have no choice but to love you."

"Are they going to be mad at my mom because she didn't tell anyone about me?" Punk wasn't sure how to answer the question and found he didn't have to as he heard his sisters enter the pizzeria, their volume already at a high level.

"I'll be right back kiddo, don't go anywhere or talk to anyone." He slid her phone across the table so she could entertain herself and greeted his sisters; all three women gave him a welcoming hug only to find themselves in a confusing situation as Punk ushered them back out the door.

"Can you tell me what's going on? First you tell us to meet you here, say you actually want to eat here which is odd because you always insist on delivery, and then we get here and you force us outside. I know we're a little late, but you're acting goofier then normal." Punk took a deep breath hoping what he was about to say came out right and would address Chez's concerns.

"I apologize ahead of time because you should've known this months ago, but it's taken a while for it to sink in with me, so I didn't tell anyone…"

"Oh my god, are you sick? Are you retiring? What's going on?" Chalene started to get emotional and he tried his best to calm her down.

"It's nothing major, well nothing major health wise and I'm heading back on the road in a few weeks…"

"So what is it? You're starting to freak us out Phil; you never keep secrets with us…" Punk took a deep breath trying to find the right words when the door opened and a dark haired, hazel eyed little girl popped her head out.

"Punk the waitress wants to know if we're ready to order and I'm kind of hungry; are my aunts here yet?" Punk closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose; he should have felt relieved, but his family never should have found out this way.

"Ahh please just go back to the table and I promise we'll be there in a minute…"

"But…" He found his nerves being tested and glared in Brooke's direction.

"Go!" His voice was stern and Brooke got the point as she sulked back to the table; Punk took a deep breath finding himself in a shit situation. His sisters hadn't said a word and now Brooke was upset, this was way too many women to deal with at one time.

"She asked about her aunts…is that your…" Punk nodded at Cassie, "But when? Who?" He swallowed the lump in his throat before answering her.

"Melissa Mercer…she told me she was, but was taking care of it and decided to keep her. Brooke is my daughter, she's ten…" All three women stood staring in disbelief.

"How long have you known?" Chalene asked.

"A little over four months…I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but please don't be mad at her. If you want to be pissed off at me that's fine, but the kid is worried about first impressions, so take it easy; she's never had an aunt or an uncle, so besides Colt you're kind of her only hope and let's face it maturity wise you three are her only hope…" The silence remained for a few minutes with Punk unable to make eye contact with any of the three; he felt guilty for keeping something so big from them, he'd never done that before.

"Well Brooke is hungry, so why don't we go in and get some food; we can discuss this later." Chalene and Cassie nodded toward Chez before walking into the restaurant to join Brooke.

Chez and Punk stood looking at each other; they'd been friends for so long and had been through so much, but she never expected this. Rather then holding it against him, she hugged him knowing that he needed that more then anything.

"It's okay you didn't tell me because I know now, but so help me if you hide something this big from me again, I'll kill you." He managed to let out a laugh feeling a sense of relief as he held the door letting Chez go in first.


	14. Chapter 14

**I feel like I haven't updated in days even though it was just the other day...anyway, dinner with David will be next chapter; I intended for it to happen this chapter, but a better idea popped into my head and I went with it, but it took a little longer to play out...**

**I'm going to try to update again later this week, but with tomorrow being a holiday, Tuesday is my birthday and I leave Friday for Wrestlemania weekend, I can't promise anything, but I'll try :)**

**Punk is a bit of a jerk this chapter...well just read and you'll see what I mean...enjoy! :)**

* * *

Melissa woke up the next morning finding the double bed across from her empty; she let out a sigh as she threw back the blankets heading for the shower. Sex was not the reason she had gone to New York, but the idea of even a little intimacy had invaded her thoughts when David mentioned sharing a room. Even though she thought she'd feel relief at the site of two double beds, her disappointment was more evident; clearly he meant it when he said he wanted to take it slow.

Melissa set her hair with hot rollers before looking at her phone and seeing it was just after 9; she hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Brooke since she'd arrived in New York and missed the kid more then ever. Shrugging her shoulders, she dialed Brooke's number listening to it ring a number of times before a sleepy Brooke finally answered.

"What mom!" Melissa smiled to herself hearing the sound of a grumpy Brooke who had probably stayed up way past her bedtime and was less then pleased to have her mother call before noon.

"I'm sorry for calling you so early, I know you're on break and want to sleep in, but I missed talking to you last night and today is another busy day; I wasn't sure I'd have time to call later." Brooke let out a groan as she sat up feeling bad for the way she had answered the phone.

"I'm sorry too, but I stayed up late watching movies…" She let out a yawn before continuing, "It was a really busy day, but a great one. I met my aunts Chalene, Cassie and Chez and Uncle Colt too."

"Oh wow, you did have a busy day!" Melissa was happy Phil was introducing their daughter to her family, but hated that she didn't have family to introduce Brooke to.

"Yeah dad took me to Dino's and told me the story about your first date and showed me the vandalism…"

"Vandalism?"

"Yeah, the carving, its vandalism everywhere else, but he said it was the thing to do there. I thought it was weird at first, but before we left he put my name by yours, so we're always together no matter what." Melissa bit her lip as memories of their times at Dino's came flooding back to her; the fact he'd introduced their daughter to the pizzeria made it surreal that in some odd way they were a family.

"Well I'm glad you're having fun, but you should probably try to get more sleep…"

"I thought I told you we'd call you, not to call us…" Melissa was cut off by the sound of Punk's voice, his smug laugh echoing in the phone.

"I'm sorry, but I miss my baby…plus I wanted to make sure you're not corrupting her!"

"Don't worry we're both on our best behavior, I promise. Today we're going to check out a couple museums; she really wanted to visit the Navy Pier, but I convinced her to wait until you were here because I know that's one of your favorite places to go. You're flying in Friday right?" Melissa couldn't help the grin forming on her face; the fact he'd thought about her was flattering, but she quickly remembered it was just a friendly gesture, nothing more.

"Actually it might be sooner then that, possibly tomorrow; the meeting was bumped up to this afternoon, so once that is wrapped up we're free to go."

"Oh well that's even better, just let me know. If you want you can stay here, I have a spare guest room…"

"Nope, I'm good; David and I already booked a room for the weekend, but thanks."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about him; Brooke doesn't seem to be too excited about going to dinner with you two and actually asked if I could come along. I know it's an odd situation…"

"Ahh no, that's fine with me; if it will help Brooke feel better about the whole thing then why not. She's your daughter too and you'll have to meet David sooner or later, so yeah, the more the merrier."

"Great, I'll let her know; keep us posted on when you're arriving in Chi-town and don't stress about this presentation…you've got this…"

"I hope so…keep doing what you're doing, it seems like Brooke is having a great time, thanks again for helping me out."

"Anytime…see you later Mel…"

"Bye…" Melissa hung up the phone and walked into the bathroom staring long and hard at her reflection. She'd just agreed to have dinner with her pre-teen daughter, her current boyfriend that wanted to take their relationship at a snails pace and her ex who was always brutally honest regardless if asked for his opinion or not; she covered her face with her hands letting out a groan before staring at her reflection again. "What the hell were you thinking Melissa Ann?"

* * *

Brooke stared at her dad with a raised eyebrow as he hung up the phone and began tending to breakfast again; he noticed her staring and figured he knew the reason.

"What?"

"Did you really just tell mom that I wanted you to come to dinner?"

"Yeah, I know you didn't ask directly, but I thought maybe you'd feel better if I were there."

"Then why didn't you just say that; why did you lie?" Punk let out a nervous chuckle wondering how he was going to talk his way out of this one.

"Here's the thing, I'm just as curious about this guy as you are. I mean I don't care if your mom is dating someone because I'm with someone…"

"Oh? When do I get to meet her?" Punk rubbed the back of his neck realizing he was doing more damage then good; he still hadn't mentioned anything to Amy about getting together and meeting his daughter because he had a feeling she wasn't going to take things smoothly like Colt and his sisters had.

"Soon…" He cleared his throat turning his attention back to the stove where he was flipping pancakes. "Anyway, I just thought it would be better for everyone involved if I came to dinner too; I'm sorry I lied though, that wasn't a very nice thing to do, especially using you in my lie."

Brooke shrugged her shoulders forgetting about the matter; even though it appeared both of her parents were in good places and happy relationships, even her young mind knew something was off with both of them.

"It's cool dad, I'm glad you're coming…now we can both make fun of the tool." Punk stopped and smiled hearing Brooke call him 'dad' for the first time and it surprisingly didn't sound as foreign as he thought it would. He scooped pancakes onto a plate setting them in front of her and kissing the top of her head.

"That's my girl, but whatever you do don't call him a tool in front of your mother; we'll leave that nickname between the two of us."

* * *

Brooke and Punk spent the afternoon exploring countless museums, some more fascinating then others, before stopping at the grocery store to grab food. They'd both decided that having a quiet night in was much needed after back to back days of excitement.

Punk cleared the table of the dinner dishes instructing Brooke to pick a movie; once he finished loading the dishwasher, he popped some popcorn before meeting up with Brooke in the living room curious what movie she had settled on.

"So, what's the feature film this evening?"

"Well I was torn between two, but I settled on _The Goonies_…" Punk smirked; that was the last movie he thought Brooke would choose figuring she had never heard of the truffle shuffle.

"Have you seen this movie before?"

"Yeah, mom and I watch it all the time; it's one of the few PG movies she'll let me watch."

"Well it's a good choice; I actually introduced this movie to your mom, she had a terrible childhood in my eyes because the first time she saw it she was eighteen…then again there were a lot of good movies she wouldn't have seen if I wouldn't have entered her life." Brooke rolled her eyes as the opening credits appeared on screen. Both Punk and Brooke were quiet taking in the nostalgia of the 80s classic until they were interrupted with a knock at the door. Punk wondered who it could be, but quietly passed the popcorn to Brooke before going to answer it; he instantly regretted it as soon as he saw her.

"Amy…what a surprise…" Amy greeted him with a big hug following it up with a deep kiss that involved her tongue involuntarily invading his mouth. He politely pushed her back giving her a small smile. "What are you doing here; I wasn't expecting you until later this week…"

"I know that was the original plan, but I missed you too much to wait. Are you feeling okay, you look like you're about to be sick…" Punk shook off the comment thinking of a way to politely ask her to leave before Brooke made an appearance and ousted his fatherhood role like she'd done with his sisters.

"Actually I'm not feeling so hot, so maybe you should head home and I'll call you tomorrow…" She gave him a sad face cupping her hands on his face.

"Oh no, I've been traveling all day to get here, please let me stay! I promise I'll do anything I can to make you feel better." She sent him a wink as her hands fell to his waist, her thumbs slipping into the band of his athletic shorts. He blushed, realizing he wasn't getting rid of her, and he wasn't sure he wanted her gone.

"Umm, can you just wait right here for a minute? I'll be right back…" Amy's jaw dropped as he closed the door running back into the living room where he found Brooke laughing over the movie; he didn't feel any guilt as he picked up the remote turning off the TV.

"Dad, what are you doing? That was one of the best parts!"

"Sorry kiddo, but I think you should head to bed; I talked to your mom earlier and she wants you getting more sleep."

"But it's only 7:30; I haven't gone to bed this early since I was 6!" He swallowed hard realizing this was going to be harder then he thought, but still didn't start thinking with his brain rather then his penis.

"Well then go read a book for a little bit or something, I don't care what you do, but it's time for bed."

"I thought we were going to have a fun movie night; does this have something to do with who was at the door?" He started to tense up at all the questions, feeling more agitated and sexually frustrated by the minute.

"I'm really tired of the question game, so enough is enough! I'm the adult, you're the kid and I said go to bed, so go!" Brooke's eyes welled up with tears as she got up from the couch before running up the stairs and slamming the door to her room. Punk felt a moment of guilt before there was another knock at the door and he remembered Amy was waiting patiently; but by the time he made it to the door she was furious by his actions.

"Can you explain to me why you shut the door in my face and left me standing in the hallway? And who were you talking to?"

"Amy I'm sorry, I just needed to clean up a little bit and I wasn't talking to anyone…" Amy was reluctant to believe him, but his charming side kicked in and she forgot about everything falling into his arms.

Punk held her face in his hands kissing her deeply as she pulled his shirt off. As much as he wanted to ignore it, the nagging voice in the back of his head came to the forefront; this was wrong, he shouldn't have sent his daughter to bed in an effort to get laid. Besides that, he needed to come clean with Amy because lying wasn't getting him anywhere. He pulled away from her, taking a few steps back before looking her in the eye.

"What's wrong; did I do something?" He simply shook his head before taking a deep breath and laying his cards out on the table.

"Amy there's something I haven't been honest with you about; when you came to the door, I was talking to someone…" She glared at him, her jaw dropping at the idea that he'd cheated on her, something she never expected him to do.

"There's someone else then…"

"Sort of…I was talking to my daughter…"

* * *

Melissa and David were both feeling the effects of their celebratory bottle of red wine as they laughed loudly walking hand in hand down the hall to their hotel room.

"I still can't believe they picked my proposal, I honestly never expected it, but it feels so good to come out on top; it feels good to know you're good at something…" Melissa leaned against the wall as David fumbled with the room key.

"What do you mean good at something? You're good at a lot of things Melissa…" She blushed even though she didn't believe him.

"Being a mom doesn't count…"

"I don't mean that…" Melissa followed him into the room tossing her jacket over a chair; she was taken by surprise as David pressed his lips to hers. After a few minutes, he pulled away, "That's just one of the many things you're good at, but frankly I'd like to see if you're good at other things…" Melissa bit her lip; after the disaster of the double bed situation, she'd never expected this from David, but clearly alcohol was his liquid courage.

Things escalated quickly as they found themselves kissing each other passionately, articles of clothing beginning to pile up on the floor, but everything stopped when Melissa's phone rang.

"Let it go to voicemail, I swear I'll make it worth it…" As much as she wanted to do just that, she knew Rancid's _Radio_ was designated for one of two people.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to get it…" David huffed as he rolled off of her and she quickly grabbed her phone heading into the bathroom for privacy.

"What's wrong?" Punk sighed annoyed that Melissa would automatically think something was wrong, but he was reminded of the current situation realizing she had every reason to ask that.

"Ahh, has Brooke called you?"

"No, why, what did you do?"

"It's nothing, honestly, I'm sure she's here somewhere…"

"You fucking lost her!"

"I didn't lose her; she just may have taken off…" Melissa felt like she'd been kicked in the chest as she sat on the edge of the tub, tears coming to her eyes.

* * *

**Clearly now Punk sees just how hard it is being a full time dad...the big question now is if he'll be able to find Brooke before she gets into trouble...**

**Please review! Thanks :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, so this chapter was supposed to have the big dinner in it, but it doesn't...sorry guys I didn't get around to that part, but I wanted to give you something before I go away this weekend seeing last chapter left you on a cliff hanger (which is resolved this chapter)...so pumped that this story is so beloved, it hit 100 reviews yesterday, please keep them coming :) Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't understand why would she run away? This morning she tells me she's having a great time, what the hell happened?"

"I'm sorry Mel, but I just didn't think…"

"You didn't think about what? Please, just tell me what happened; maybe I can help some how…"

"I fucked up…big time…I'll be honest here, I don't know how you do this all the time…"

"I do it because I don't have a choice in the matter; something I thought you'd learned, but apparently not." Melissa continued sobbing into the phone and Punk regretted even calling her.

"Listen, I'm sorry, beyond sorry, and I'm scared to death right now, but freaking out isn't going to help find her. I'm going to call Colt and my sisters and get them to help me out…"

"I should've never trusted you with her!" Punk stayed silent as her words cut through him, but everything she'd said was right; he'd made the immature decision of picking Amy over Brooke and now he didn't have either of them.

"I'll call you when I find her…" He hung up unable to take Melissa's angry banter any longer and ran down the hall to grab a shirt; out of the corner of his eye he noticed the door to the roof was opened and as he listened closely the faint sound of crying could be heard. He let out another sigh unsure what he was going to say to his daughter, but shamefully started up the stairs anyway.

"Brooke, hey kiddo are you up here?" She didn't answer, but he found her sitting on the patio furniture shivering from the cold. "Thank God you're okay; I thought you had taken off on me…"

"Just go away; I want to be alone!" He kept his distance wanting to respect her wishes and the two stayed silent for a few minutes before she spoke again. "I should have run away, maybe then I would have found a family that isn't broken up with a mom and a dad that love me."

"Please don't talk like that, your mom and I love you very much."

"No you don't!" Brooke had stopped crying, her sadness turning to anger. "If you loved me you wouldn't have sent me to my room so you could hang out with your stupid girlfriend…and mom is so wrapped up in her work I'm surprised she remembers I even exist! I hate you both!" Punk understood where her anger was coming from, but he wasn't about to tolerate the attitude he'd been warned about.

"That's enough! I understand you're mad right now, but take it out on me, don't say those things about your mom. She has sacrificed so much to raise you by herself the last ten years and I won't tolerate you saying that about her. Maybe she does work a lot, but do you have everything you want? Everything you need? Your mom would give up her left arm if it meant that you would have eternal happiness and you need to take some time to appreciate that because believe me it's rare!" Brooke swallowed the lump in her throat surprised to hear her dad praise her mom so much.

"I'm sorry…" Punk took a deep breath before sitting down beside her.

"You don't need to be sorry, I do. I messed up tonight, big time, and I promise you it won't happen again. This full time dad thing is new to me and it scares the crap out of me."

Brooke scoffed at him, "I thought CM Punk was fearless…"

"Well he is, but Phil Brooks isn't…I'm afraid of a lot of things…" Brooke looked at him in astonishment at his revelation.

"Like what?"

"Like the day you decide you like boys…" She rolled her eyes elbowing him lightly in the ribs. "That's a legitimate thing to fear because as you learned tonight men will let you down, but I promise you from this day forward I'll never let you down again."

"Really?"

"Really; I realized I made the wrong choice the minute you slammed your door, and then when I told Amy about you…it was just the stupidest thing I've ever done and I've done some stupid things."

"I heard yelling, that's part of the reason I came up here; is Amy mad at you because of me?"

"Well she didn't take it well, but it's okay. I don't need a woman in my life because I've got quite the little lady that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world." Brooke hugged him tight and he returned the sentiment realizing how precious of a gift fatherhood was. "So I think we should call your mom and calm her down seeing she's really mad at me and then we can restart our dad/daughter date; are you up for that?"

"Yeah, I think that's the best idea you've had all day…" Brooke smiled jumping up from the patio couch and heading back to the living room. Punk followed slowly behind trying to get his pulse back in check before dialing Mel's number.

* * *

Melissa answered on the first ring, much to the annoyance of David. He'd tried to convince her that everything would be fine and Brooke probably hadn't run away, but her mind still raced with countless scenarios.

"Please tell me good news…"

"Brooke was on the roof; we had a discussion and you should know that she was pretty peeved at both of us…"

"What the hell did I do?"

"Listen she said a lot of things, most of them I don't think she meant, but none of that's important; all that is important is she's safe and happy where she is."

"I want to talk to her…"

"Mel I think you're overreacting…"

"Now Phil!" Punk rolled his eyes before passing the phone to Brooke who seemed annoyed that her movie date was being interrupted a second time.

"I'm fine mom, I'm sorry I worried you, but I talked with dad and I feel much better now."

"I'll be there tomorrow; make sure your things are packed because we're going home!"

"No! You said I could stay with dad during my spring break and I still have another week; if you make me go home I won't be happy, so please just think about it…" Melissa felt overly frustrated, first with Phil and now her daughter, but realized maybe she was acting rash. Deciding to drop the conversation for the night, she bid Brooke goodnight.

"I'll be there tomorrow, but if you need me don't hesitate to call; as far as you staying in Chicago, I'll think about it."

"Okay, I love you mom and I'm glad you'll be here tomorrow; I've missed you a lot."

"I've missed you too baby and please no more running away, not even to the roof! I'll call you tomorrow, I love you too." Melissa hung up feeling a slight weight lift from her shoulders.

"She's okay…"

"I told you she would be there was nothing to worry about."

"You're right; Phil has never let me down before, I don't know why I thought he would this time." David let out a sigh; he was tired of hearing about Phil, it seemed like ever since Brooke found her father, he was all Melissa talked about. He thought maybe there was unfinished business there, but Melissa swore otherwise.

"Well we better get some sleep, early flight tomorrow." Melissa nodded noticing his annoyance and felt a sense of guilt; clearly he'd had his sites set on being intimate and she'd shut him down after one phone call. Granted she had a right to worry, any mother would, but David's reaction had her questioning his commitment. Even though they were taking it slow, was he up to fathering another man's child? Nonetheless was he up for dealing with Phil? She let out a sigh as she clicked off the bedside lamp; she'd have all her answers soon enough, when everyone sat down for dinner, the very dinner she wasn't looking forward to.

* * *

**So it was a bit of filler, sorry about that, but I plan on writing this weekend on the 5 hour trip willing I have down time and a full iPod battery...I'll see what I can do folks :) I hope you all enjoy Wrestlemania and Raw after Wrestlemania, I'll be returning hopefully Wednesday...Later guys!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So I tried really hard this week to work on this story, but honestly I've been bummed since Monday when Punk "walked away" from the WWE...I'd figured he was taking a break after Wrestlemania, but frankly I still wasn't ready for it to happen...Oh well, I'm just hoping he comes back a little happier and much healthier and creative has something good for him because so help me if after the past two years they make him a mid-carder I will be so pissed at WWE and I'm sure I'm not alone there!**

**But anyway, I finally got it together today and came up with the dinner scene, but even I didn't see this coming when I thought of it originally, but I went with it...sometimes my brain just goes and I don't even think about what its doing until its already done :) I hope you enjoy and I'll have another update later this week!**

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Brooke sat at the table twirling her spaghetti noodles stealing glances at the three adults seated around her. Her mom looked nervous, her cheeks tinted a bright pink and Brooke was pretty sure it wasn't a case of too much make-up; her dad looked bored and after listening to David tell his life story followed by an awkward silence, she could relate. Brooke lowered her fork onto her plate staring across the table at her mother's new beau; she wasn't so sure of him. As friendly as he tried to come off, she had a feeling that he had something up his sleeve, something that wouldn't benefit her.

The sound of Melissa clearing her throat brought broke Brooke's one sided staring contest, "Brooke I'm going to head to the ladies room, would you care to join me?" Brooke shrugged her shoulders before placing her napkin on the table figuring now was her opportunity to inform her mom just how big of a tool her current boyfriend was. She didn't care how this awkward night ended, but she just wanted to get out of the terrible dress her mother had requested she wore, it was starting to make her skin crawl, the lace material making her arms and legs begin to itch; she had never been so thankful to have a pair of basketball shorts under a dress in her life.

Punk continued to eat his salad as David took a sip of his chardonnay; Punk sensed he was staring and figured he had a slew of questions to ask, so he put down his fork preparing himself to answer in a kind manner, or at least try to.

"So, you're a professional wrestler?" Punk nodded feeling annoyed seeing the topic of his career had been discussed earlier in the evening.

"Yes, I thought we had established that…"

"Oh yeah, Melissa had mentioned it to me previously. It must be amazing to get paid to see the world like that."

"It has its perks yes, but the downfall is being away from family and friends for most of the year and of course the injuries. I'm currently recouping from a recent knee surgery and got the call today that they need me back next week; it's kind of never ending."

"Right, but the injury can't be that bad, I mean it's all fake." Punk bit his tongue trying to compose himself. Clearly David wasn't a wrestling fan, he didn't understand how things worked and Punk wasn't about to get into a long discussion that could very easily become an argument.

"My job is just as real as a stunt mans…it's dangerous…I've seen guys retire in their thirties because of broken necks and I've lucked out only having a handful of injuries, but you can guarantee each one of them is serious." David's face drained in color a bit as he nodded trying to give Punk a small smile.

"Right…anyway, so how has Brooke been this week? Besides that little runaway stunt, I assume everything went well with you two…"

"Things have been great; I really appreciate Mel letting me have Brooke for the last week, especially seeing that once I get back on the road it'll be a while before I can schedule time with her again."

"Yeah that's got to be hard; it'll be even harder once Brooke goes off to boarding school." Punk raised an eyebrow; this was the first he'd heard about Brooke going away to school and the idea didn't sit well with him.

"Excuse me, but I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Oh Melissa hasn't discussed it with you…"

"No, she hasn't, but please proceed because now you've got me intrigued."

"Well Melissa and I were discussing possibly moving to New York and the schools there aren't so great, so we were discussing sending her off to boarding school in Europe. The schools there are fantastic and the kids go year round with two week breaks at the end of each quarter. My brother sent his kids there and the one got a first round acceptance to Harvard." Punk began to bite his cheek as his anger level rose; the idea that Melissa and her new boyfriend were moving so quickly and planning to ship his kid off to Europe didn't sit well with him at all, in fact it pissed him off. He was just getting to know his daughter and her moving to Europe was not going to make developing their relationship any easier. Rather then wanting to hear any more, he got up from the table with the intention of finding his daughter and taking her home.

"I don't know what all this boarding school talk is about, but Brooke isn't going anywhere without my approval and there's no way in hell I'm letting you or Melissa ship her off to Europe! If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my daughter and take her home." David cleared his throat before standing up and nervously extending his hand, which Punk just shook off heading in the direction of the ladies room. He didn't have to go far before seeing the two people he was looking for.

"Brooke go get your coat, we're going home…" Melissa was caught off guard by his tone wondering just what had gone down that he was in such a hurry to leave.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen that I should know about?" Punk made sure Brooke was out of ear shot before shooting a glare at Melissa, a glare that answered her question immediately.

"So were you going to tell me about shipping Brooke off to boarding school before or after she was enrolled?" Melissa was taken back; she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't understand…"

"Enough of the lies Melissa; you kept Brooke from me for too long and I'll tell you this right now, if you don't want her I do! I might not be the best dad, but she's better off with me then she is being bounced around from California to New York and ending up in Europe with a bunch of rich kids. I can't believe I actually defended you telling Brooke that she had such an amazing mother and I get this dropped in my lap."

"Phil I don't know what David said, but…" Brooke returned before she could finish and Punk wasted no time taking his daughter's hand and leading her out of the restaurant leaving Melissa to feel dumb founded and lost. She didn't know where Punk was getting this idea that she didn't want Brooke, but knew she needed to talk to David and get to the bottom of it; surely this was all just a misunderstanding.

* * *

Punk had managed to cool off by the time he and Brooke arrived home, but Brooke knew there was something wrong. Rather then asking, she headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Punk figured she had either caught the tail end of their conversation, or she just knew from his demeanor, but wanted to make sure everything was okay. There were far too many times in his own childhood that he went to bed upset and angry with his parents neglecting him and he didn't was Brooke to ever feel that way.

He walked up the stairs and down the hall tapping lightly on her door before opening it finding her in bed with a book.

"Can I come in?" She nodded setting her book aside and scooting over so that Punk could sit beside her. "What are you reading?"

"Harry Potter…I've already read it a couple times, but I like it so much that I decided to read it again." He nodded wanting to continue the small talk and hold off on the feelings talk, but Brooke started it before he even got a chance to think about what to say. "Is everything okay with you and mom? I noticed she looked upset and so did you…you were quiet the whole way home too and you're never quiet." He couldn't help laughing at what she'd said as he made himself comfortable cuddling up to his daughter.

"Well sometimes adults don't agree and David told me something that he and your mom are planning that I don't agree with."

"Does it have something to do with me?"

"It does…"

"Yeah I don't think David likes me very much and the feeling is mutual. Tonight was supposed to be about me meeting him and getting to know him and he didn't even talk to me."

"I know kiddo, I wasn't impressed either, but if that's who your mom chooses to be with then we both need to get used to him being around. Changing the subject a bit, I'm just curious if you had fun this week…"

"Are you kidding me, I had a great time!" He smiled noticing her let out a big yawn; looking at the clock it was just after ten, a good time for her to go to sleep.

"I think maybe you should go to bed, especially seeing tomorrow we're going to the navy pier." He leaned down kissing the top of her head before moving off the bed watching her slump down under the blankets. "Good night Brooke…"

"Good night dad, I love you…" Punk smiled to himself finding those six words to be the sweetest and most rewarding he'd ever heard.

"I love you too kid…" Brooke was asleep before he clicked off the light closed the door behind him as he wandered over to his own room changing into lounge clothes and grabbing a book before heading back down stairs to veg out on the couch. He'd just started chapter one when he was interrupted by a knock at the door; Punk rolled his eyes figuring it was Colt or one of his sisters, but what he found was a broken hearted Melissa.

With her eyes red and puffy, mascara running down her cheeks, she managed to speak through her sobs, "Please, I'm begging you; don't take her from me…"

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**Kind of left you hanging there as far as what will happen next...can they work it out? Is David out of the picture? So many questions and you'll have your answers in time :) Thanks for reading and please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Left you hanging last chapter, but I think I made up for it with this one :)**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys, up to 120 and this story isn't ending any time soon...enjoy!**

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Punk felt a stabbing pain in his chest at the site of Melissa; as angry as he'd been with her, he felt like he'd gone through a time warp of sorts relating her current state to the one she had been in when she told him she was pregnant. That night he'd made a mistake letting her run and he didn't want that again as he found himself pulling her close to him her tears soaking his shirt as he ran his hands through her long dark hair. They stood in the doorway like that for several minutes before Melissa slipped from his embrace; as much as she'd wanted to stay entangled with him, breathing in his scent as he consoled her, she needed to talk to him and straighten out the wrinkles in their relationship.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this, but I need to make things right." Punk simply nodded moving aside as she entered. Melissa sat on the couch absentmindedly rubbing her sweaty palms on her dress as she felt Punk's eyes on her. She knew she had to explain, but didn't even know where to begin; taking a deep breath Punk spoke noticing the bruise on her wrist.

"Did he do that to you?" Melissa gave Punk a puzzled look unsure of what he was talking about until he leaned forward taking a closer look. She winced slightly and Punk took notice getting up to grab her an ice pack; when he returned she noticed the anger in his eyes and knew if she didn't calm him down he would lose it, which never turned out well.

"Phil please look at me..." He evaded her gaze instead staring at the coffee table, a sign that he was plotting revenge. Melissa knew she didn't have much time as she quickly moved to sit on the coffee table making it so he was staring right at her; he moved to stand up, but Melissa was one step ahead of him placing her hands on his face and forcing him to look at her.

"Please listen to me and forget about David, he's not worth it!"

"That son of a bitch put his hands on you and you just want me to forget about it? I'm sorry but that's not possible; I've broken arms for much less, hopefully he's good with a straw because that's the only way he'll be eating the next few weeks!" Punk made the move to stand up again, but Melissa stopped him getting a sigh of frustration in return.

"I'm not making excuses for him because he is a self centered bastard, but breaking his jaw won't make you feel any better. Besides it's not worth it; the bruise on my wrist came from him grabbing it as I tried to get out of the cab and I shut his arm in the door, so he's already paid for it." Melissa glanced at Punk noticing he'd relaxed slightly, but she knew the events of the evening were still weighing heavy.

"Okay so you two are done, good to know; I still want to know why you were planning to ship our daughter to the other side of the world."

"I didn't want to send Brooke anywhere and I honestly had no idea what you were talking about when you confronted me about it. David talked to me about moving to New York on the flight this morning and I was taken back partially because our relationship has been very slow going and secondly I thought about what that would do to Brooke. With the exception of this week living with you, she's only known life in Modesto; her school is there, her best friend, her childhood home...I don't think I could ever move her away from there unless I was moving her here."

"So there's no plans of sending her to boarding school?"

"Absolutely not! Phil I was beside myself having her away from me for a week, there's no way I could let her go for a whole year seeing her for only a few weeks...it was bad enough doing it with you, I couldn't bare to lose her the same way." Silence fell between them as Melissa felt herself start to fall apart again, the emotions of the week proving too much for her tough persona. Punk's protective side kicked in again as he attempted to console her putting his arm around her as she rested on his shoulder.

"Mel I'm not going to take Brooke away from you, I couldn't do that to either of you, but you have to understand how I felt hearing David say you were sending her away."

"I understand and I know you wouldn't...I'm just beside myself. The first serious relationship I've had in years and I didn't know the man at all! I just wanted to be happy and I looked past all the signs that he didn't want to be tied down with a kid so that I could stay happy...I'm such an idiot! Brooke must hate me for even putting her in the same room as someone like David." Punk rubbed her arm pulling her closer wishing he could make all of her pain go away.

"Brooke could never hate you, you're her mom and you're one of the best. You've overcome so much doing everything on your own and you deserve to be happy. I promise you someday you'll find the perfect guy who will love you for who you are and will accept Brooke whole heartedly, but until then you're stuck with me." Melissa slapped Punk playfully in the chest finding it impossible not to laugh.

The two sat together for several minutes, both knowing they were treading toward dangerous territory, but neither wanting to move. While he didn't mind comforting Mel, Punk couldn't take the awkward silence and knew the perfect way to put an end to it.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not sleeping any time soon; are you feeling up to watching a movie?" Melissa felt a sense of déjà vu as if they were returning to their early friendship days, before they'd dated, before they'd had sex, long before Brooke was ever thought of.

"That sounds like a great idea, but do you mind if I borrow a shirt or something? My luggage is still at the hotel." Punk got up and began perusing his movie collection pointing her in the direction of the laundry room.

"I'm pretty sure everything is clean in there; the maid was just here the other day, but honestly it might not hurt to do the sniff test." Melissa rolled her eyes realizing it didn't matter how much money Punk made he was still a guy.

Upon finding the laundry room, she couldn't help but laugh at the first shirt she picked up. A very old, incredibly vintage, straight edge T-shirt that had once been hers before Punk stole it; it wasn't unusual for them to trade clothes back and forth, but she never expected he'd still have it ten years later. Pulling it over her head it was just as baggy as she remembered it and it still smelled like him, just like it always seemed to.

"I don't know what's funnier; the fact that you still have this shirt or that it still fits you." He smirked seeing her reappear in a very familiar T-shirt and a pair of his shorts that were way too big.

"Don't knock that shirt; it's one of my favorites though I'm not sure how it ever fit us both." After some friendly banter, the two got comfortable on the couch settling in to watch _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_. Halfway through the movie, they were both laying on the couch, once again entangled with one another. Though it didn't bother her, she couldn't help but wonder if Phil was okay with the spooning going on.

"Are you comfortable because I can move if you're not…"

"I'm good, are you?"

"Yeah…this isn't awkward for you is it?"

"No, should it be? We used to spoon all the time before we dated; I enjoy spooning…"

"This is kind of a flashback and I don't mind it either, but we need to make sure we don't fall asleep like this because I don't know about you, but the idea of explaining this to Brooke is something I don't even want to think about."

"Don't worry, I'm still an insomniac and if you start to feel tired feel free to head upstairs to my bed."

"I'm good…" Melissa took a deep breath hoping she was coming off as sincere, "One more thing…"

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thanks; you didn't have to let me in tonight nonetheless let me explain. I know I haven't always shown it, but I'm grateful that you're in Brooke's life and mine for that matter." Punk was quiet for a minute before she noticed him pull her closer to his chest.

"There are a handful of people I care about in this world that I'd do anything for and you and Brooke are towards the top of that list. I need to thank you for letting me spend the week with Brooke; she's an amazing kid and that's all your doing." Melissa smiled to herself as she rested her hand on his; she was blessed to have such an amazing person father her child, but part of her wished he was still hers.

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**All's well that ends well...but how long will the goodness last?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Keeping it short and sweet...**

**Pretty long chapter because I went on a writing spree and just couldn't stop haha Next couple of chapters some good stuff coming, hope everyone likes it :)**

**Thanks for the continued support and enjoy :D**

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Melissa let out a contented sigh as she sleepily settled into Phil's arms not even thinking about her warning the night before until she came face to face with it.

"Mom...mom..." Brooke gently shook her mom to wake her up, but when that didn't work she resorted to yelling. "Melissa Mercer!" Melissa's eyes shot open at the sound of her name quickly realizing the predicament she was in. Her mouth gaped open as she attempted to untangle herself from Phil's arms and legs without waking him, but he too had been awoken by his daughter's big mouth. While Melissa struggled to find words to explain to her daughter what she'd seen, Punk shrugged it off rubbing his still tired eyes.

"What's up kiddo? Are you excited about hitting the pier today?" Melissa looked at him puzzled as to how he was side stepping the compromising situation they'd been found in, but it seemed Brooke didn't care either as she sat between them on the couch.

"Yeah I'm excited, but can we eat first? I want mom to make chocolate chip pancakes." Melissa nodded still curious as to when her daughter was going to ask about what she'd come across.

"Willing your dad has everything and is okay with me taking over his kitchen I'm okay with that."

"Go ahead and be my guest; it'll be nice not to make breakfast for once." Punk stood up, stretching before lifting his shirt to scratch at an itch near his ribs; as much as she didn't want to, Melissa found herself staring until Brooke brought her back to the main issue at hand, her growling stomach.

"So mom, what about those pancakes; they're not going to make themselves you know!" She shook her head before heading over to the kitchen. Punk smirked noticing that she'd been checking him out, but wasn't about to make a big deal about it; he had bigger things to take care of.

"Brooke should be able to help you find everything, but yell if you need anything. I'm going to grab a shower and head over to your hotel to grab your luggage." Melissa froze with the frying pan in hand, catching a glimpse at her wrist that had turned a deep shade of purple over night.

"Don't worry about it; I'll get it once you and Brooke head out."

"Don't be silly, you're coming to the pier with us..." Rather then continuing the conversation, he started up the stairs leaving Melissa biting her lip. She wanted to remind him that David wasn't worth the trouble, but she knew how Phil could be; if you messed with someone close to him, accident or not, a hospital visit would be needed.

"Mom!" Melissa snapped out of her trance noticing her daughter's annoyed tone of voice, "What is with you today?"

"I'm fine..."

"At least you and dad seem better...did you work out your disagreement?"

"We did and it was actually a big misunderstanding that David caused. I'm really sorry I made you meet him Brooke, he isn't the man I thought he was."

"It's about time you figured out he's a tool..."

"Brooke Marie!" Melissa tried her best to hold in a laugh, but with the shrug of Brooke's shoulders she lost it. "You're right, he is a tool...a top shelf Bob Villa reject tool!"

"Now you've taken it too far!" Melissa shrugged as she began stirring the thick pancake batter.

"I need chocolate chips please and a ladle." Brooke grabbed both things handing them to her mom, a persistent thought in her head.

"Ahh mom..."

"Yes..." Melissa scooped a ladle full of batter preparing to drop it in the pan.

"Do you think you and dad will ever get back together?" The ladle of batter fell to the floor as Melissa scurried to grab paper towels, Brooke's question echoing in her head. After cleaning up the mess, she took a deep breath knowing her daughter needed an answer.

"I don't think so, after all your dad has a girlfriend."

"No he doesn't, they broke up..." Melissa raised an eyebrow while pursing her lips trying to come up with a way to sensitively tell her daughter that it would never happen.

"Your dad and I are two very different people then we were ten years ago, but you should know that no matter what happens we have one thing in common and that's the fact that we both love you a lot."

"But what about this morning?" Melissa bit her cheek; the moment she'd been dreading was finally happening and she kicked herself for being so lazy and falling asleep on the couch.

"That was a mistake; we were up late talking and watching a movie, so we both fell asleep on the couch."

"Oh...you're going to go to the pier with us today right?"

"Of course, there's nowhere else I'd rather be." Brooke gave Melissa a small smile as they hugged only to be interrupted by Punk coming down the stairs.

"I was upstairs ten minutes and still not a single pancake made! I hope by the time I come back you girls have them ready and waiting because I'm about to work up an appetite." Punk smirked cracking his knuckles and Melissa feared the worst for David.

* * *

Punk thought about the conversation he'd overheard between Melissa and Brooke and couldn't deny it stung a little. Granted everything Melissa said was right; they were two different people, but it had always been that way. She came from an upper middle class family, was well educated and he was just a punk kid blowing up bridges and destroying relationships left and right to get to where he wanted to be. Hell odds were if Ryan wouldn't have died they wouldn't have grown as close as they were nonetheless started dating, but then it dawned on him if none of that would've happened he wouldn't have Brooke in his life.

He smiled to himself realizing just how lucky he was the have a great kid and he couldn't deny it was nice to be close to Melissa again. There had been a few lonely nights on the road where he found his mind wondering what she was doing and if there was ever a way for things to be different, but in the end he always acknowledged they'd hit a fork in the road where he went left and she veered right.

Shaking his head out of he past, Punk parked his SUV in front of the Hilton and prepared himself for what could happen next. As much as he didn't want to get into a scuffle for fear it could land him in trouble or worse Mel could lose her job, he felt he needed to send a message to David for not only fucking with his kid, but trying to destroy his relationship with Mel by spreading lies. The replay of the night before made him tense up again as he approached the front desk to politely ask what room his target was staying in.

Some sweet talk and charm had the receptionist swooning as he sent her one last wink before taking the stairs to the fourth floor. Upon arriving outside room 407, he paused thinking David may not let him in, but the wrestling gods were on his side as he spotted the cleaning lady exiting room 408, her jaw dropping in recognition of who he was.

"Oh my god you're CM Punk..." He smiled planning to take full advantage of her fandom; glancing at her name tag he saw her name was Chrissy and decided to play it cool.

"Guilty..." She let out a nervous giggle, her cheeks blushing bright red, "Say Chrissy, I know you're not technically supposed to break protocol and let guests into their rooms, but I left my key inside and I'm kind of screwed without it. I know I could just go grab another one from the front desk, but I have a thing that I'm already late for..."

"Anything for you Mr. Punk, I'm a huge fan, you're biggest." He smirked again feeling he needed to find a way to repay her for breaking the rules.

"Well then we need to get a picture together to commemorate this meeting and consider my way of thanking you for letting me in and supporting me."

"Really?" Her smile was so big Punk was sure her cheeks would be aching the rest of the day. Without further hesitation, Punk pulled out his iPhone and snapped a picture of the two subsequently posting it on twitter and tagging his self-proclaimed biggest fan. She was beside herself as she shakily slid her master key, the light flashing green allowing him access.

"Thanks again Chrissy, it was great meeting you." She nodded looking beside herself at what had just happened as Punk took the moment to slip into the room finding it empty, before realizing David was in the shower.

He spotted Melissa's luggage in the corner and grabbed it before looking around to make sure there was nothing else of hers laying around.

"What the hell! How did you get in here?" Punk turned around to see David looking angry and annoyed.

"Never underestimate the power of a CM Punk fan..." He took a deep breath trying to stay calm even though he really wanted to punch the guy out for all the trouble he'd caused. "Look I'm sorry for coming in unannounced, but I just need to get Mel's stuff and I'll be out of your way."

"I should've known she'd send you to clean up her mess..." David mumbled, but he underestimated Punk's bionic hearing.

"Excuse me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly how it sounds; clearly Mel can't fight her own battles, so she sent you instead."

"Actually Davey boy I volunteered and Mel tried to stop me; I don't know what you're trying to say about her, but I wouldn't underestimate the power of Melissa Mercer. Hell I used to watch her make boys cry, myself one of them and based on the bruising on that arm I'd say she sent the message to you as well."

"She didn't send anything to me except the fact that she's a cock tease that doesn't care about anything else in this world other then that spoiled brat of hers." Punk pursed his lips as he balled up his fist getting in David's face.

"Let's get something straight here, you can't call a woman a cock tease if you don't have a dick and that spoiled brat you mentioned happens to be one of the most kind hearted kids in the world. She was willing to do just about anything to make her mom happy including fraternizing with a piece of shit like you."

"You're calling me a piece of shit, that's funny, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" Punk took it with a grain of salt, he didn't give a shit what others thought about him, especially a worthless loser. "It's a real shame that kid has your genes because I'm sure that predetermines she'll be a loser just like her old man or better yet a slut like her mother."

Punk didn't even think as he speared David to the ground punching him repeatedly in the face; he'd tried to be civil going into this, but David had crossed the line with his comments about Brooke. David finally managed to get Punk off of him nailing him in the cheek with a hard right. Taking a few deep breaths, Punk stood up grabbing Melissa's suitcase, but stopping short of leaving as he turned to face David again.

"Stay the fuck away from Melissa and Brooke because if I hear one word from Mel that you're bothering her I swear to you you'll regret it." With that he slammed the door taking the stairs and pushing his cap down low as he hit the lobby.

Melissa had sent Brooke upstairs to get ready for the day as she paced back and forth watching the clock tick by. When Punk finally walked in the door, she couldn't hold herself back as she threw her arms around his neck pulling him close to her; Mel pulled back noticing the bruise forming on his right cheek bone.

"Jesus Phil, are you okay? What happened?" He looked around for Brooke as Melissa went into the kitchen to grab him an ice pack.

"Believe me Mel he looks much worse..." Melissa felt a sense of relief as she pressed the ice pack to his cheek watching him wince slightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to control myself, but I really tried. I went in with the intention to get your stuff and he started running his mouth saying shit he has no idea about. I was still fine until he made a comment about Brooke growing up to be a loser like me or a slut like you..." Melissa felt anger start to surge through her body as she white knuckled the counter top.

Punk could see it and reached across putting his hand on hers, "Don't listen to him, you're not a slut..."

"Well you're not a loser; I think he's just jealous that you make more then him in a year."

"I think he's jealous because I have two amazing people in my life and we're heading to the Navy Pier today." Punk smiled at her causing her to blush slightly.

"Are you sure? We can always go another time..."

"Nope, we're going today because I promised Brooke we'd all go, so that's what we're going to do." Punk lowered the ice pack placing it on the counter, "Now, where are my pancakes?" Melissa rolled her eyes walking over to the microwave and pulling out the warm fluffy stack of chocolate chip pancakes; Punk smiled taking a big bite and giving Mel a thumbs up of approval.

"Mmm….Just how I remember them..."

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**Enjoy Raw tonight...despite no Punk last week wasn't too bad, so fingers crossed this week isn't too bad either...**


	19. Chapter 19

**A brief filler update to set up the next couple of chapters where I promise some good stuff is on the way...hopefully some of it you're not expecting...**

**Thanks for all the reviews and to answer a question I got, the Amy/Punk break-up will be brought to light in more detail and you haven't seen the last of her...**

**Let me know what you guys think of this one, sorry it's filler, but it'll help everything move forward...enjoy!**

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Brooke ran ahead of her parents as they headed toward their final destination, and the biggest, the famed ferris wheel. Melissa felt the familiar butterflies start in her stomach; even though she'd been on the famous ride over a dozen times, she still got nervous before boarding. She wasn't the biggest fan of heights, but the outlook of the city made it worth it.

"What time is your flight tomorrow?" Punk asked trying to make simple conversation as they nonchalantly walked a few paces behind their daughter who was running off a sugar high.

"Our flight departs at 10, so we have to be at O'Hare by 8:30…I'm not looking forward to it."

"Well that makes two of us," Melissa bit her lower lip trying not to let his words mean anymore then they did. "I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to you two, especially since it means I have to head back to work myself."

"Why are you going back so early?"

"I don't really have a choice and my knee is healed for the most part…" Melissa shook her head trying not to show just how concerned she was about Punk's health, but he knew it without having to look at her. In a friendly gesture, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder giving it squeeze like he'd done the night before. "Don't worry about me Mel, I'll be fine; this isn't the first time I've gotten back on the horse too soon."

"That's true, but I always worry it'll be your last; you really need to take better care of yourself Phil because it's not just you anymore…" Melissa realized she'd sounded way too matronly as he dropped his arm from her shoulder.

"You're right, it's not…I have to look out for both myself and Brooke's future, which means I have work as hard as I can for as long as I can and collect the bigger paychecks. Once retirement hits I don't really have a lot of options…" Melissa took a deep breath wanting to say something more on the matter, but deciding against it; Punk noticed her apprehension and quickly changed the subject.

"So despite all the crazy shit that went down yesterday, I hope today made up for it…"

"It did; I forgot how much I love Chicago…"

"Then why don't you move back?" Melissa stopped walking turning her gaze to Punk and raising an eyebrow.

"Did you just suggest…"

"What? This is where you belong, plus I'm not going to lie it would make seeing Brooke a lot easier. I'm not twisting your arm saying you have to do this, but maybe you should think about it. After all your ad firm has an office here, it can't be that hard to get a transfer…"

"I don't know; as easy as it sounds and as nice as it would be for the three of us to be in the same city I'd have to think about it. Like I told you yesterday Brooke has only known life in Modesto; her school is there, her best friend…I couldn't imagine pulling her away from Jessica, those two are like sisters."

"I understand what you're saying, but honestly think about it and please don't dwindle on the small stuff. There are excellent schools only a few miles from my place and Brooke is a pretty social kid, she'd make new friends and Jessica could always visit in the summer." It seemed like all of the reasons Melissa had to object the idea, Punk had thought out a solution for making the idea more plausible, but she knew it couldn't be an overnight decision; it would take a lot of thinking and a lot of planning before a box was even packed.

* * *

A month had passed since Melissa and Brooke returned home from Chicago and things had fallen back into their normal routine. Brooke went to school every day spending her weekends with her best friend and Melissa worked over time trying to get ahead, but as her 30th birthday approached, she was looking forward to a carefree weekend with just her and Brooke.

Melissa woke up Saturday morning finding it to be another day in the life, the only difference being she was now another year older as she entered the third decade of her life. She'd planned a day of shopping followed by movies and junk food with her favorite ten year old, but found herself halting the plan as she overheard Brooke on the phone.

"Your sleepover is tonight Jess? Oh man, I thought it was next weekend…" Melissa leaned against the wall outside Brooke's room knowing she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but finding it hard not to.

"I really want to come, but I can't…it's my mom's birthday and she's planned a whole day for just the two of us…I can't leave her alone on her birthday…" Melissa took a deep breath biting the inside of her cheek to hold back tears; as much as she loved that Brooke was willing to miss Jessica's big sleepover bash to spend the day with her, she couldn't deny her daughter from having that experience. Taking another deep breath, she knocked on Brooke's door before opening it.

"Hey Jess, I've gotta go, but I'll call you later…have fun tonight…" Brooke hung up the phone greeting her mom with a hug, something that happened more frequently since Brooke's time spent in Chicago. "Happy birthday, what are we doing today?"

Melissa smiled ruffling Brooke's hair, "Well you are packing your overnight bag and heading to Jessica's sleepover and I'm going to spend the day getting a few things done around the house…"

"But mom it's your birthday, you can't spend it alone…"

"It's just another day kiddo and while I appreciate your willingness to miss the big sleepover, I can't let you do that. Part of the growing up experience is going to sleepovers with your friends and doing makeovers and talking about boys…"

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "If that's what I have to look forward to then I really don't want to go!" Melissa let out a light laugh giving Brooke a kiss on top of her head.

"You'll have a fun time regardless what Jessica has planned. Why don't you call her back and get packed, I'm going to get started on your laundry." Melissa picked up Brooke's overflowing basket of laundry carrying it out of the room leaving Brooke to think of a way for both her and her mom to have a great day. As much as she wanted to go to Jessica's sleepover, there was no way she could leave her mom home alone on her birthday; racking her brain for a solution, one came in the form of a text message.

_Hey kiddo! I'm in town this weekend and I'll be over to see you tomorrow; I wanted to come sooner, but I know it's your mom's birthday and I figured you'd want to spend the day with her. If you need me call me… -Dad_

Brooke smiled to herself as she dialed his number.

* * *

Melissa loaded the washer grabbing a basket that needed folding and returning to the living room to watch the Lifetime movie of the week. With her attention on the TV, she started mating socks before hearing a knock at the door; she rolled her eyes annoyed that someone was interrupting her lame birthday celebration. Opening the door she saw a huge flower arrangement complete with a heart shaped balloon reading 'Happy Birthday.' She smiled finding that there was a bright spot in the day, but she wasn't expecting the next part.

"Special delivery for the birthday girl…" Punk peeked out from around the flower arrangement noticing the look of shock on Mel's face before it faded into a bright smile.

"Thank you so much, it means a lot that you still remember after all these years."

"Of course I remember how could I not?" Melissa took the flowers from him as he followed her into the kitchen where she set the large arrangement on the counter.

"You really didn't have to do this, but I do appreciate it; what brings you here? Didn't Brooke tell you she's at a sleepover?"

"You deserve a whole garden of flowers for what you do on a daily basis," Melissa smiled, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. "I talked to Brooke earlier and knew she wouldn't be here, but she informed me that you were alone on your birthday and that is not acceptable!"

"It's not that big of a deal Phil; besides I have a lot of house work to catch up on and I've become engrossed in the plot of the latest Lifetime movie." He let out a light laugh shaking his head knowing deep down this was not how she imagined spending her special day.

"Mel today is your 30th birthday and as a close friend I cannot allow you to spend it cleaning the house and watching Lifetime. Instead of settling for your lame plans, no offense, I have a much better idea."

"Do I really want to know what you have planned?"

"There's only one way to find out; go pack an overnight bag, there's a private flight to Vegas awaiting us."

"Vegas? Since when are you a fan of gambling?"

"Who said anything about gambling?"

"That's what you do in Vegas…"

"That's what civilians do in Vegas, but I have a much better offer. I can't let you in on it though unless you go pack that bag and we get moving." Melissa bit her bottom lip thinking of what she should do; the view of the TV over Punk's right shoulder caught her attention and she shook her head.

"Give me twenty minutes…"

"You've got ten!"

* * *

**What do you think Punk has up his sleeve? One thing to keep in mind, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**The long awaited answer to your question of what Punk and Mel are doing in Vegas...**

**Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites...love you guys! Enjoy!**

* * *

Melissa followed Punk off the private plane and thanked him as he held open the door to the limo. Even though she'd resisted asking him what he was up to on the flight, her curiosity had reached its peak.

"So, are you going to tell me what we're doing? It's only fair that I know what you're up to seeing it's my birthday." He smirked noticing the 'I need to know' look on her face.

"You'll find out soon enough...I'm just hoping you like it."

"Even if I hated it I'd never tell you; anything you have planned is much better then what my plan was." She gave him a polite smile noticing the twinkle in his hazel eyes and quickly looking away as she felt her stomach do a little flip flop. Punk noticed the odd interaction, but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

"Hey kiddo, are you having fun?"

"Yeah dad, it's a blast; did she agree to go with you?" He laughed to himself catching Melissa's attention.

"Yes she agreed to come with; you were right it didn't take much convincing, apparently that lifetime movie wasn't as entertaining as she thought." Melissa rolled her eyes at the two of them plotting against her. Punk and Brooke talked for a few more minutes before he handed the phone over to Melissa.

"Hey sweetie, is everything okay?"

"More then okay, you were right sleepovers are a lot of fun. You're not mad I called dad are you?" Melissa looked at Punk out of the corner of her eye noticing him staring out the window as the view of the city came to light.

"Not at all, in fact I owe you a big thank you; you're a great kid, you know that?"

"Of course I am! Hey mom I gotta go, we're making ice cream sundaes."

"Okay baby, make sure you throw an extra cherry on top for me."

"I will! Happy birthday mom, I hope you have a good time." Melissa hung up the phone handing it back to Punk as a tinge of sadness set in; Brooke wasn't a baby anymore and with her own age on the rise, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever have another child to call her own. The thought was shaken from her mind as the car came to a stop. Punk walked around the car opening her door; she took in her surroundings, the answer to her question spread across the marquee at the MGM Grand.

"UFC huh?"

"Yeah...I've had the tickets for months, so forgive me for not wanting to pass this up for Celine Dion, which seems more your speed nowadays."

"Really? You know so little about me now..."

"Well I just figured with Brooke..." Melissa raised her eyebrow at him giving him a little smirk.

"Phil I became a mom, not a middle aged crazy cat lady. Despite what you think I still listen to punk rock and this peaks my interest more then you think." Punk felt a sense of relief even though his own curiosity level was on the rise; he realized he hadn't really taken the chance to see if she'd changed and perhaps a night in Vegas was the perfect time to do so. His phone buzzed keeping his mind from wandering any further; he checked it smiling a bit before putting it back in his pocket, offering his arm to the birthday girl who accepted it graciously with a bright smile on her face.

"I hope you don't mind meeting up with one of my buddies before heading to our seats."

"Not at all, lead the way."

* * *

Punk held Melissa's hand as they wandered through the backstage area following security personnel before stopping and knocking lightly on a door. Melissa was curious who they were meeting, but got her answer as she took in a tall, dark haired man with long legs and muscular arms; he pulled Punk into a man hug as she stood by watching their exchange.

"Punk! I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it."

"I told you I'd be here, wouldn't miss it for the world." Punk noticed Melissa picking at her fingernails and pulled her over. "Chael this is my good friend Melissa Mercer." Melissa blushed as he took her hand placing a kiss on the back if it; if all of the men competing on the card were as easy on the eyes as this one, Melissa was very interested in the world of UFC.

"It's nice to meet you..."

"Chael Sonnen...I'm kind of the man around here." Punk noticed the smirk on Chael's lips paired with the blush on Melissa's cheeks and felt a tinge of jealousy. "Is this your first fight?"

"It is...quite the way to celebrate my birthday."

"It's your birthday? Well that's an even bigger reason for me to win tonight; consider it my gift to you." Punk cleared his throat grabbing the attention of the two.

"There you go trash talking again..."

"You call it trash talk, I call it confidence. You of all people should know the difference." Chael sent a wink in Melissa's direction, "A number of crossover wrestling fans and analyst have said I'm kind of the CM Punk of the octagon; best in the world is quite a fitting title with guns like these." He flexed a muscle in his arm coaxing Melissa to feel it. Punk had both seen and heard enough of the awkward situation and chose that point to intervene.

"Oh look at that, it's going on 6:30...should probably head to our seats for the pre-show fights." Melissa nodded heading for the door with Punk following before Chael tapped his shoulder.

"Is she single?" He whispered as Punk took a deep breath trying to keep his emotions in check and nodding. "Any way I can score her number?" Punk drew the line at that shaking off his buddy and walking out the door finding Melissa in the hallway. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her hand dragging her through the hallways forcing her to run to keep up with his long strides.

"Woah, can you slow down please; not all of us have long legs." Punk stopped taking a deep breath and turning to face her.

"I apologize for Chael; he's a bit of an idiot around women."

"I didn't mind it, he's an attractive guy." She noticed Punk staring at the floor and realized something was up. "Are you okay Phil? If I didn't know you any better I'd think you were jealous..."

"Me? I don't get jealous..." Melissa smiled taking his arm and walking beside him.

"I didn't think so, but just wanted to make sure. He's an attractive guy, but has none of the qualities I'm looking for, so I hope you didn't give him my number or anything." Punk smiled intertwining his hand with hers.

"No worries, you're my date for the evening, I didn't intend on sharing..."

* * *

Melissa playfully smacked Punk's arm as she struggled to control her laughter, the onset of tears in her eyes. Despite having her doubts about the UFC fight, it was much more entertaining then she thought it would be, in fact the whole night had been more then she thought it would be. After a small dinner together, the two headed to their hotel room to attempt to settle down for the evening, but with Punk's stories and jokes, Melissa didn't see that happening. She'd forgotten what it was like to laugh until she cried, probably because he was one of the only people who could bring that emotion out of her.

Punk slid the room key in the door waiting for the light to turn green as he held the door for Melissa carrying both of their bags. As he attempted to get everything situated, Melissa took off on a tour of the deluxe suite finding something interesting in the bedroom.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Punk dropped their bags at the sound of her words unsure just what she was referring to.

"Excuse me?" Melissa appeared in the main room again and couldn't resist laughing at the look of shock and confusion on his face.

"I'm just kidding! You had said this room was supposed to have two beds and there's only one, but it's huge."

"Seriously, I called last week to change my reservation and they said it wouldn't be a problem; so much for customer service! Give me a few minutes and I'll get this worked out."

"Phil its fine, really, not like we've never slept together before." Melissa could feel her cheeks heating up as the words left her mouth though she wasn't sure why; sleeping with someone didn't always have a sexual connotation attached to it.

"Are you sure because I can have the situation rectified…"

"You've done enough for me today; it's not a big deal at all. Let's just relax and try to get some sleep." He nodded following her into the bedroom where they both collapsed on the California king sized bed. Melissa's eyes began to close as she felt her body sink into the bed feeling a sense of contentment she hadn't felt in a long time before his voice brought her out of it.

"Mel, did you really have a good time tonight? I know the fight wasn't exactly your style, but this whole thing was kind of last minute. I would've taken you to see Cher or Celine Dion if you wanted; all you had to do was say the word. I never could say no to you…"

"I had a great night and I really didn't mind the fights, they were intriguing actually. I'll be honest though if I would have gone with anyone else I wouldn't have had such a good time. Thank you for tonight, for everything…"

"You're welcome; you deserve to have a good time every once in a while and I don't think you ever allow yourself that time."

"I don't, but its okay I don't mind spending my Saturday nights with Brooke watching a movie. I had enough adventures in my teens to last a lifetime." He smirked thinking of a few occasions in particular that she was referring to.

"In between fights I couldn't help but think back to your nineteenth birthday when you told your parents that you were spending the weekend with Kayleigh and instead you spent it with me in Florida." Melissa smiled knowing the exact weekend he was referring to.

"I still don't know how my parents never figured it out, especially when our flight back home was delayed and I had to call and keep making up excuses and they bought every single one. We need to make sure we're never that gullible when it comes to Brooke."

"I don't think that will be a problem because when boys come into the picture I assume she'll be in her thirties and I'll still have a GPS tracker on her phone, especially if she brings home anyone remotely like me."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about boys for a while, but you're not a bad guy." Melissa turned on her side feeling her stomach flutter at the site of him.

"Your parents didn't think I was such a good guy…"

"Yeah well they also threw their nineteen year old daughter out of the house because she was an unwed pregnant teen…clearly they're not the best judges of character." Punk was silent for a few minutes before turning to face Melissa, a sincere look on his face.

"Do you ever regret what we did? Looking back it was kind of the down fall of our relationship…" Melissa took a deep breath thinking over his question before letting out a sigh.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't at first, but I don't regret it now. I wouldn't have wanted to share myself with anyone else; you were the perfect gentleman then and now. Even if our relationship didn't work out, I love you, I always will."

Punk didn't know what had come over him in that minute, but he couldn't resist leaning forward and kissing her. Maybe it was the softness of her eyes, or the way her dark brown hair spread across the pillow; perhaps it was the smell of vanilla that lingered from her soft skin, or her plump pink lips just begging to be kissed. It took Melissa by surprise, but she didn't pull away instead feeling herself kissing him back, her arms wrapping around his neck never wanting to let go.

Sweet, soft kisses quickly became more passionate as Punk's hands wandered up her shirt sending a shiver up her spine. A thought briefly crossed Melissa's mind that this was a bad idea, but the feel of his lips on her neck sent the thought into oblivion; she wanted this, she wanted him.

Melissa sat up raising her arms as Punk willfully removed her shirt tossing it to the floor, but as he moved to unclasp her bra, she put her hands on his chest halting his movement; as much as she wanted this there was something he needed to know first.

"Do you want to stop?" She shook her head trying to catch her breath and form a coherent sentence; Punk was confused as to what was going on and Melissa could tell.

"There's something that you should know before we go any further…"

"Um okay…" He sat back on his knees as Melissa took a deep breath staring at her pink fingernails for a distraction.

"So it's been a while since this has happened…" Melissa reminded herself to breathe as she felt embarrassment set in; it wasn't a big deal, surely a lot of single moms dealt with the same thing…or so she liked to think. "I haven't had sex in ten years…" Punk let out a sigh of relief thinking she was about to tell him something far worse.

"Well then you need this more then I do…" He smirked pulling her close to him again, a slight look of shock on her face due to his comment, but it quickly disappeared as his tongue invaded her mouth and she melted all over again. He pulled away, a sudden thought dawning on him. "So wait that means you're not on anything…"

"I'm prepared; I wouldn't have let you get this far if I wasn't…" She barely finished her sentence interrupted by Punk's lips on hers again, the rest of their clothing coming off in record time.

Punk laid her back on the bed before settling in between her legs feeling a moment of déjà vu set in as he looked into her blue eyes full of longing. As if it was the first time all over again, he started out slow before she quickly urged him to speed up as she hit her long awaited climax, their lips crashing together as she moaned in his mouth. After a second climax, he was quick to finish as they both lay breathlessly beside each other. Punk pulled Melissa against his chest feeling content. Melissa began to drift off feeling safe wrapped up in Punk's arms as she heard him mumble, his words just above a whisper.

"I love you Mel…" His breathing settled into an even pattern as Melissa felt the tears start to fall from her eyes. She'd dreamt of a night like the one she'd just experienced, but she couldn't help but feel in the pit of her stomach that it was all wrong.

* * *

Punk woke up sprawled out in the middle of the bed feeling relieved to finally get a good night sleep. With all the drama surrounding his personal life and the crazy schedule he had to maintain, he needed more nights like the one he'd just had. He squinted at the sun peeking through the window as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes wondering where Mel had run off to and quickly getting his answer as he found her in the living area.

"Okay I'll call you when I'm home…I love you too Brooke…bye…" He took notice that Melissa was already showered and packed; clearly she'd planned her trip home already based on her call to Brooke.

"Hey, you're up early…you weren't trying to sneak out on me were you?" He noticed her body stiffen as he wrapped his arms around her waist; she turned to face him breaking his embrace and backing up a few steps.

"I know you never sleep well, so I figured I'd just let you sleep."

"So you were just going to leave without saying goodbye? I figure you owe me at least that much…"

"I don't owe you anything actually…" He took notice of her defensive tone unsure of what had changed between last night and this morning.

"Mel you need to chill, I didn't mean it like that…" He noticed the onset of tears before they came as she tried desperately to hold them in.

"Phil I'm sorry…about everything…"

"Everything?"

"Yes everything…last night, what happened between us…" Her gaze dropped from his eyes as she stared at the plush carpet beneath her feet, "It was a mistake and I'm sorry I left it happen." Punk walked over to her lifting her chin so that she was forced to meet his eyes.

"You don't mean this…"

"But I do; I think we're better off as friends for Brooke's sake…" She backed away from him as the telephone in the room rang; Punk answered it exchanging few words before hanging up.

"Your cab is here…" Melissa nodded still biting her cheek trying to keep her emotions at bay. Grabbing her suitcase, she went to open the door only for Punk to close it again as he placed his hand on hers pleading in her ear.

"Mel please don't do this…" Melissa swallowed feeling all of the air sucked from her lungs as she struggled to convince herself that leaving was the right thing to do, but in the end that's what she did.

"Goodbye Phil…" Melissa opened the door running for the open elevator before she changed her mind; the minute the cab door closed, she felt all of the frustration and emotion come to a head as she sobbed quietly all the way to the airport.

* * *

**Please don't shoot me for the ending :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**So I got a lot of reviews and as good as last chapter was it was unanimous that no one liked the ending haha I figured that would be the case and just bear with me...**

**This chapter might get me some forgiveness, not in the beginning, but towards the end...maybe...it's long though :) Working on more, so I can possibly update again at some point this weekend...I'd say enjoy, but I don't want to push it :) Apologies in advance that it does jump around going from right after Vegas to a month after, hopefully it's not hard to follow...**

* * *

Punk sulked as he sat on his couch in Chicago unable to stop thinking about the events of Saturday night. He should've held back, things never should have gone to that level, but now that they had there was nothing that could be done. He'd realized Saturday night that he very much wanted to reconnect with Mel and try out a relationship, but she made it clear she didn't want the same thing. With the exception of a few meaningless texts, he hadn't talked to her since; he let out a sigh as he stretched out wishing he knew what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

He let his eyes drift closed for a minute as he tried to banish his thoughts only to be brought out of his relaxation attempt by the sound of his phone. Deciding whoever was calling could wait, he ignored the call putting his phone on the do not disturb setting and trying again to get a few winks in while he could. After all he knew it was just a matter of time before Colt or one of his sisters would arrive and wreck his peace and quiet time. Sure enough a knock at the door sounded and he let out a sigh forcing himself up off the couch feeling annoyed that either Colt or Cassie had forgotten their key…again; opening the door he found something completely unexpected.

"Amy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Punk leaned in the door frame wondering just what his ex-girlfriend was doing showing up at his house out of the blue. It had been almost two months since they last spoke, Amy choosing to storm out upon hearing the news that he had a daughter.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this, but I tried to call first…can I come in?" Punk shrugged his shoulders moving aside allowing her to walk through the door. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge as he watched her pace back and forth, something very out of the ordinary for her seeing she was usually calm and collected.

"You feeling okay; you seem a bit frantic…" Amy stopped pacing taking a deep breath before looking Punk in the eye.

"Look I owe you an apology…"

"No you don't…"

"Just please let me talk!" Punk noticed the urgency in her voice and nodded allowing her to go on. "I overreacted when you told me about your daughter and I've had some time to think about things. I had no right to feel betrayed really because it's not like you knew for ten years, you just recently found out right?" He nodded opening his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand, a sign she wasn't done. "I want to fix us, we've been friends for so long and I don't want this to ruin everything; especially since I talked to Chez and she said she's a pretty rockin kid, a lot like you."

"That she is…" Before he could say anything else, Amy pressed her lips to his and he felt himself kissing back as he cupped her cheek. He'd been so distracted by the drama with Mel that he hadn't really thought about Amy, but now that she was there, in front of him, he realized how much he missed her.

Amy pulled back needing to get something off of her chest before anything went further. "There's one more thing that I need from you…" Punk raised his eyebrow bewildered about what it could be. "Unless it involves your daughter, stay away from Melissa. I know there's a lot of history between the two of you and I also know she's the mother of your child so you can't just shut her out completely, but if there's any chance of fixing this, I need you to cut the ties to her emotionally."

Punk swallowed the lump in his throat unsure of what to say; a week ago he would've sent Amy packing, but after everything that happened Saturday and how she'd shut him out since, he was beginning to think maybe cutting those ties was just what he needed.

Taking a deep breath he nodded, "Okay, it's done…"

* * *

Melissa let out a sigh wishing for once she had a girlfriend to talk to; she was so messed up emotionally that she couldn't focus. One minute she found herself feeling angry and the next she was crying over nothing, which made her even angrier. The only upside was that she'd avoided seeing Punk since her birthday, but with a weekend trip to New York, coincidentally the same weekend as Wrestlemania, she knew she couldn't avoid him much longer.

Melissa sorted through her closet trying to figure out what suit to take for her presentation Saturday when her phone interrupted, glancing at it she sighed seeing it was the person that had been the center of her emotional turmoil as of late. Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself to talk to him.

"Hey…"

"Yeah, hi, what's up?" Melissa sat on the edge of the bed feeling a sudden weakness in her legs.

"I was just calling to see if everything was still on for this weekend…"

"Uh yeah, packing as we speak; Brooke will be ready Friday night. Are you still okay with picking her up in the hotel lobby?"

"Yeah that'll work; I have a question to ask you, something I've been meaning to ask for a few weeks." Melissa braced herself for the unknown biting on her lip to the point where she thought she may draw blood.

"Okay…"

"Well I was planning on taking Brooke out to dinner, but Amy is free that night too. Is it cool if I introduce Brooke to Amy? I know you held off with the whole David thing for a while and Amy and I just got back together a few weeks ago, but I figure there's no point in waiting, or should I hold off? This is the part of fatherhood I'm kind of clueless on…" Melissa let out a light laugh when in actuality she could feel a lone tear drip from her chin as she struggled to keep it together.

"I think Brooke would be okay with that; you and Amy have a better relationship then I ever had with David, so that'll be great." Melissa bit her cheek as more tears came knowing she had to get off the phone quickly before she lost it all together. "Anyway I'll text you when we land Friday and we can discuss times and such; I'll see you then Phil, bye…"

She didn't even wait for him to respond instead hanging up the phone and collapsing on the bed holding a pillow close to her chest to try to muffle her sobs. She had no right to feel this way and it frustrated her beyond belief that Punk moving on bothered her at all. The sound of his voice as he drifted off to sleep saying he loved her haunted her as she realized she'd have to learn to live with the decision she'd made. Melissa had convinced herself everything was a mistake as a way to keep from getting hurt again, but deep down the thought of Punk moving on and introducing their daughter to the new woman in his life cut deeper then any heartache.

* * *

Punk looked over the texts from Brooke that he'd gotten over the past week and let out a sigh torn on what to do. He'd promised Amy he wouldn't get involved with Melissa in any way unless it had something to do with Brooke, but rereading the messages from Brooke he was worried.

_I'm okay dad, but I'm worried about mom…she hasn't been herself lately.-Brooke_

He'd noticed the same thing from their brief conversation about picking up Brooke and introducing her to Amy; part of him thought maybe it was too soon to bring up the topic with Mel, to her it probably seemed like he'd moved on quickly, but Punk didn't know what else to do. Melissa rarely spoke to him and on the rare chance that she did, she refused to discuss what happened that night in Vegas. It had become the elephant in the room and he knew every interaction he had with her was going to be awkward until everything was out in the open; seeing Brooke was only ten, they had a lifetime of dealing with each other.

Punk pulled his cap down low as he walked towards the Hilton hotel; he was fifteen minutes early and figured it would give him some time to talk to Melissa one on one while Brooke finished getting ready for their weekend visit. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door, surprised when Brooke answered it.

"You're early…" He smirked leaning forward to kiss her on top of her head.

"Hello to you too; I know I'm early, but I figured I could talk to your mom for a few minutes while you finished getting ready. Is that okay with you?" Brooke's smile faded as she let out a sigh.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, she isn't feeling very well." Punk pursed his lips upset that whatever was going on with Mel was now affecting Brooke.

"Just tell her I'm here, I won't be long I promise. In fact we have a reservation in thirty minutes and we still have to pick up a friend along the way, so go ahead and finish gathering your stuff." He ruffled the hair on her head before she turned away skipping towards the bedroom to get her things. Punk made himself comfortable on the couch sending a quick text to Amy before coming face to face with a sickly looking Mel.

"Brooke said you wanted to talk to me, but honestly now isn't a good time."

"You look like hell…" Punk took in her frail frame noticing the dark circles under her eyes were possibly worse then his. "How long have you been sick?"

"A few days…it comes and goes, but I'm fine, it's none of your concern."

"It is my concern when it starts affecting my kid and she's extremely worried about you and I can see why. What's going on Mel, you need to talk to me…" Melissa rolled her eyes sitting in a chair across from him and covering her face in hopes that blocking the light would stop the light headed feeling.

"It's nothing Phil, just a case of the flu…I'll be fine…" Melissa took a deep breath feeling her stomach churn again though she doubted there was anything left for her to throw up. The feeling began to subside as she felt a wet wash cloth drape across the back of her neck; she moved her hand to the side coming face to face with Punk's dark hazel eyes.

"Thanks…"

"It's not a problem; do you need me to get you anything? Soup, ginger ale, crackers…" The churning returned at the mention of food.

"I'm fine Phil, really…I'm a big girl, and I don't need anyone to take care of me. Besides that didn't I hear something about you having a reservation, you should probably go." Punk glanced at his phone seeing a '_where are you' _text from Amy; he took a deep breath feeling guilty that he was leaving her in the state she was in.

"Please call me if you need anything; I understand you can take care of yourself, but…" He stopped mid-sentence realizing he was over stepping boundaries, but unable to stop himself from caring.

"I will…"

"Promise?" She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw his lips firm that smirk.

"I promise…"

* * *

Punk was happy to see Brooke and Amy hitting it off talking about everything from wrestling to Batman, but found himself distracted. As much as it pained him to break his promise to Amy, he realized there was no way for him to break ties with Mel emotionally. He cared about her, worried about her, hell he even caught himself thinking about her at random times during the day; they had too much history together for him to just stop caring.

The girls finished dinner and Punk requested the check already deciding that even though Mel had swore that she could take care of herself and get anything she needed, he was determined to be her friend and help anyway. He drove back to the hotel listening to Brooke and Amy sing along to the radio, but rather then going in, he stopped out front.

"Is everything okay?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, it's all good, there's just something I have to take care of, but I'll make it quick. I figured you girls could bond without me." Amy smiled leaning across the seat to kiss him on the cheek.

"Don't be too late; remember you promised Brooke and I a movie and ice cream!"

"Alright well you two go start the movie and I'll be back with your ice cream, is that okay with you kiddo?" Punk turned to look at Brooke who had been sitting quietly in the back seat.

"You had me at ice cream." She gave him a goofy grin that he happily returned before getting out of the car and grabbing Brooke's over night bag. After watching them both enter the lobby, he got back in the car and set out on his errands.

* * *

Melissa leaned against the shower wall feeling weaker by the minute. She'd thought that taking a shower would help her feel better, wash away some of the grossness she'd been feeling all day, but as she closed her eyes the dizziness returned. After turning off the water, she reached for the shower railing to regain her balance, but blacked out fainting onto the cold bathroom tile.

* * *

Punk stopped at a convenience store grabbing the flu essentials: Gatorade, ginger ale, crackers and some pepto bismol; after picking up a to go order of some of the best chicken noodle soup in the city, he headed back to the Hilton hoping something he'd bought would help Mel feel better.

He knocked on the door a few times trying to juggle everything in his hands, but when she didn't answer he let himself in using the spare key she'd given him earlier in the evening. After putting everything on a table, he headed toward the bedroom assuming she was sleeping, but found it empty. He noticed the light on in the bathroom and knocked listening to see if he could hear anything, but after a minute, he decided to walk in finding Mel sprawled out on the tile.

Pure fear quickly converted to adrenaline as he kneeled down beside her finding relief that she was still breathing and had a pulse, though it was weak. Her body was cold to the touch and he wondered how long she'd been out as he began to shake her, yelling her name.

"Melissa…can you hear me?" She slowly came to struggling to sit up, quickly taken back as Punk pushed her back down towards the floor not wanting to risk her passing out again if she sat up too quickly.

"What happened?" Her voice was weak as she began to shiver; Punk noticed grabbing a robe from the back of the door and wrapping it around her running his hands up and down her arms to warm her up.

"You fainted; I'm not sure how long you were out. Do you remember anything?" She nodded as she tried to piece together the events some appearing hazier then others.

"I thought getting a shower would help, but I got dizzy again…" Punk nodded still feeling his heart beat out of his chest glad that he'd decided to come back to check on her.

"Let's get you up and into bed. I know you don't really want to eat anything, but you need to try; at least drink something." Melissa slowly got to her feet, but didn't get far before stumbling. Punk took matters into his own hands choosing to pick her up and carry her; as much as she wanted to fight his help, she knew she was in no shape to.

Once she was laid in bed, he grabbed the supplies from the other room and poured her a glass of Gatorade before sitting beside her on the bed.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital…" She shook her head taking another sip before setting the cup on the night stand beside her.

"Absolutely not! Brooke is already worried enough about me, she doesn't need that; this weekend is supposed to be fun for her. As for you, you've done enough for me. Thanks for not listening and coming back."

"That's what friends do for each other. I know we're not together like that, but I'm always going to care and worry about you. With that being said if you ever scare me like you did tonight I swear that fainting will be the least of your worries!" Even though it wasn't funny, Melissa couldn't help bet let out a little laugh at the overly concerned serious expression on his face.

"I'm sorry about that and I promise it won't happen again. I just hope I feel better tomorrow because my career depends on it. This flu is terrible, the last time I was anywhere close to being sick like this I was pregnant." Punk rubbed the back of his neck unable to ignore the last part of what she'd said.

"You don't think that's what this is, do you?" Melissa laughed at the scared look on his face, something Punk didn't find very funny.

"Calm down Phil, I'm not pregnant. I told you that night I was protected and I am; I'm on the pill and I take it at the same time every day. Hell I actually have an alarm on my phone set so I can never forget." As much as Punk wanted to take her word as reassurance, he knew no method was 100%.

"Isn't it still possible though? No method is fool proof…"

"That's true, but I promise you it's just the flu. My assistant was out with similar symptoms last week; it's been going around the office and at Brooke's school. That being said you should get out of here before you catch it."

"Are you sure you're okay now? If I leave and you pass out again…"

"That's not going to happen, so please just calm down. I'm going to go to sleep actually, so don't worry about me; go have fun with Brooke." Punk glanced at his phone realizing he'd already been gone for an hour, much longer then he anticipated.

"Thanks for the reminder, I have ice cream in the car…it might be more like soup now though." Melissa laughed again sinking down into the bed and adjusting the pillow beneath her head. Punk pulled the blanket around her shoulders and kissed her temple before turning to leave.

"Thanks for everything Phil, you're the best…" He smiled listening as her breathing evened out; he clicked off the light and quietly closed the door behind him letting out the breath he'd been holding for the last few minutes.

Punk made his way across the room stalling as he put his hand on the door handle feeling torn about leaving Mel alone. As much as he wanted to hold her close to him and take care of her, he thought of Brooke waiting for her ice cream and was quickly reminded that no matter what the situation was or who it involved, Brooke would always come first.

* * *

**Preview Chap 22:**

**-Amy questions Punk about his "errands"**

**-Brooke's first Wrestlemania and Punk's co-workers learning he has a daughter**

**-Melissa gets some life changing news**

**Toss some reviews my way please...hopefully Punk going against his promise to Amy and caring for Melissa made up for their night in Vegas...**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry for the wait guys, but mothers day ended up being busier then expected...This chapter isn't as long as I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get something up seeing I promised a weekend update, so bear with me...it's a little bit of filler, but it sets up some big stuff to come, especially the end of the chapter...**

**Thanks so much for all of the reviews, it seems many of you think Melissa is knocked up...maybe she is...maybe she isn't...keep reading to get the answer ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

Punk quietly shut the door behind him seeing it was after eleven; even though he knew he should've gone straight back to the hotel after leaving Melissa's room, he needed time to think, so he decided to take a drive instead. He'd checked his phone when he got back in the car finding a number of text messages from Amy, but rather then answering them, he decided it was time for the two of them to talk.

He found Amy sitting alone flipping through the channels looking less then pleased, her mood change most likely brought on by his absence. Punk cleared his throat getting her attention before sitting beside her on the couch.

"Where's Brooke?"

"She's asleep; she seemed a little disappointed that you took so long running your errands, but no need to worry I convinced her it was all work related and that you'd make it up to her tomorrow." Amy bit her tongue trying to keep her emotions under control, but it didn't take a fool to know where he'd been. Regardless how obvious it was to her, she needed to hear it from him.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long, but I needed some time to think…"

"About Mel?" There it was; Punk knew it was coming, but still it felt like a punch to the gut. He took a deep breath preparing to explain, but Amy spoke first. "You went back to her hotel room didn't you?"

"I did, but it's not what you think." Amy shook her head feeling tears burn the corner of her eyes. Here she was doing everything in her power to fix their relationship and he'd left her to babysitt his kid while he went off and had a fling with his ex.

"How could you do this Phil? I asked for one simple thing from you and you can't even do that!"

"It's not what you think!"

"You have no idea what I'm thinking, so please don't even try." Amy made the move from the couch, but Punk was quick to grab her arm and pull her back down.

"Please just listen to me before you jump to conclusions." Amy sat silently as she angrily wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Nothing happened between me and Melissa tonight…"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Not only do I swear on my child's life that nothing happened, but I've never lied to you before and I'm not about to start now." Amy couldn't help but acknowledge that he hadn't ever lied to her, but it still hurt that he'd left her with Brooke to do whatever he was doing with Melissa.

"I know I promised you that I would cut all emotional ties with Melissa, but I can't do that. I care about her, just like you care about Matt and Adam. When I went to pick up Brooke tonight I saw that she was really sick with the flu and I don't regret going back there tonight because she had passed out getting out of the shower. I honestly don't want to think about what could have happened if I wasn't there, and though I realize I've betrayed you in a sense, I can't just forget about the history I have with her…"

Amy nodded the tears continuing to flow down her cheeks; she knew in that moment that even if Punk did love her, Melissa would always be in his life.

"I understand that you have a history, but I don't know that I trust her around you. What if she decides she wants you back? What does that mean for me?" Punk took Amy's face in his hands wiping away her fallen tears with his thumbs.

"All you need to know is that I want you; while Melissa and I do have a past, you're my present and hopefully even my future. Melissa and I don't have that kind of relationship anymore that ship sailed a long time ago." Amy nodded resting her head on his chest as Punk kissed the top of her head.

"Brooke is a really great kid…thanks for letting me be a part of her life."

"No need to thank me, thank you for being so great with her and for understanding everything with Melissa. I'm sorry, but I hope you know I love you Amy…a lot…" Amy smiled moving away from his chest to kiss his lips.

"I love you too and I'm sorry if it seems like I don't trust you because I do, but I know there's a fine line when it comes to past relationships and it's very easy to cross."

"Well you have nothing to worry about…" Punk gave Amy another kiss to help reassure her all the while her words replayed in his head. The line between current and past relationships was pencil thin and he had to make sure he stayed on the right side of it.

* * *

Brooke woke up early Sunday in anticipation of what the day would hold. She never expected to attend a Wrestlemania event, nonetheless get the full backstage treatment. The idea that she hadn't been to a live event since the Smackdown where she reveled to Punk that he was indeed her father, so she was looking forward to being with her dad and meeting some of her favorite superstars.

Brooke walked through the hallways holding onto Punk and Amy's hands taking note of everything she'd seen so that she could relay a word for word experience back to Jessica. After stopping by Punk's locker room to drop off his stuff, Amy excused herself to catch up with Trish leaving the father and daughter alone for the first time all weekend. Punk glanced at Brooke noticing her sense of wonderment and decided to take it a step further taking her by the hand again.

"If you think this is cool, then I'm sure you won't know what to think of what I'm about to show you." Brooke smiled following close behind Punk as he walked towards gorilla and out the curtain before perching at the top of the ramp taking in the site of MetLife Stadium and the full set for Wrestlemania 29. Brooke stopped, frozen in place, as she stood in awe at the set made to look just like New York City. Punk smirked before motioning for her to join him.

"So is this better then backstage?"

"So much better; thanks for bringing me dad, I've had an awesome weekend."

"Well it's not over yet, we still have Raw tomorrow. I'm sorry we haven't had a lot of time for just the two of us this weekend, but it seems like you and Amy got to know each other pretty well."

"Yeah, she's nice and I'm glad to see you're happy; I just wish mom could be happy. She hasn't been herself since her birthday." Punk wrapped his arm around Brooke hating that she felt burdened by her parents personal life; he also felt a tinge of guilt and worry getting the feeling that he was the reason Mel hadn't been herself.

"She'll be okay…"

"Yeah…"

"Cheer up! Tonight you get to sit up in the sky box with Amy, Colt, Chez, Cassie and Chalene. Oh yeah and I have this for you." Punk handed her the latest CM Punk T-shirt finding that she was more excited by free swag then anything else; she showed how thankful she was giving him a big hug, which he returned kissing her on top of her head.

"I'm happy you're my dad…you're the best dad in the world." Punk smiled to himself, her words melting him a little bit as he tried to remember the moment knowing in a few years they'd be few in far between as she grew older.

"Well it's easy to be the best dad in the world when you have a great kid." Punk glanced at his phone seeing a text from Kofi deciding it was time to make Brooke's Wrestlemania experience even better. "What do you say we get some hot chocolate and meet up with some of my buddies?" Brooke quickly jumped to her feet running back towards the curtain leaving Punk laughing as he ran after her.

* * *

Melissa headed back to work Tuesday afternoon feeling rejuvenated after her long weekend. She hadn't felt sick since Friday night and the dizzy spells had seemed to pass as well leaving her feeling a sense of relief. Granted she'd told Punk there was no way she was pregnant, but with how sick she was even she started to wonder.

Flipping through the stack of client files on her desk, she smiled at the interruption of her phone seeing a text from Brooke. As much as she'd missed having her daughter around, it made her happy to see she'd had such a good weekend with her dad…and his new girlfriend. Melissa tried to shake the last thought from her head further convincing herself that she'd closed the book on her relationship with Punk; he belonged to Amy now and that was perfectly fine with her. A knock on her door startled her from her thoughts before her assistant Alexis popped into view.

"Uh Melissa George Jeffries is on line one for you." Melissa raised an eyebrow unsure of why Mr. Jeffries, one of the big wigs at the Chicago office, was calling her. She nodded silently dismissing Alexis before taking a deep breath and answering the phone.

"Mr. Jeffries, this is Melissa Mercer, what can I do for you?"

"Yes Miss Mercer I'm calling to see if you're still interested in transferring." Melissa mentally face palmed; her life had been on go mode for the last several months and she'd forgotten all about her conversation with Punk about possibly moving back to Chicago nonetheless the fact she'd actually applied for a transfer. It was a long shot seeing Chicago and New York were the top two offices, so she never expected to hear anything in return.

"I would consider it if there was an offer yes…" Melissa began to chew on her fingernails unsure what she was committing to.

"Well there just so happens to be a position opening up here and you're one of the top prospects for it. I've been monitoring your career closely and you're quite the asset to this company."

"Thank you sir, that's very kind of you to say."

"I don't give out compliments much, but you deserve them young lady. What are the chances you could fly out of California and be here Friday morning for an interview?" Melissa chewed her cheek contemplating what this would mean for her life, but once again figured it was a long shot.

"I can be there sir."

"Good to hear; I'll pass the word to my secretary and between yourself and your assistant we can work out all the details. I look forward to meeting up with you on Friday."

"Same here Mr. Jeffries; thanks for the consideration." Melissa hung up the phone realizing just what she was possibly signing up for; letting out a sigh she realized she had to talk to Brooke before making any drastic decisions. As much as she liked the idea of moving back to her hometown and Brooke being close to both of her parents, she didn't want to think about any possible consequences that could come…including the idea of her being in the same city as Punk.

* * *

**Next chapter: **

**-Melissa talks to Brooke about moving...what will her reaction be? As much as she seemed to love Chicago and being with both of her parents, is she ready to leave the only home she's ever known?**

**Review please :) Thanks ladies and germs...enjoy wrasslin tonight!**


	23. Chapter 23

**So it's been forever and I'm very sorry for that :/ Between the real world bringing me down, hunting for a new job and trying to piece the next couple of chapters together word wise, writing has been meh as of late...I wanted this to be longer then it is, but stopped where I did figuing it's a good spot because next chapter should be longer with Melissa going to Chicago...**

**Anyway, sorry again for the delay, I'll try to get something else up later this week...thanks for the continued support and reviews, keep them coming please :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Melissa kept the idea of moving to herself instead listening to Brooke rave about her extended weekend with her dad, but as she entered her office Wednesday morning she found her final travel arrangements waiting for her. Letting out a sigh she knew she could no longer put off the conversation deciding she'd bring it up over dinner to see what Brooke thought.

Despite Melissa's original idea to talk about the possible move over dinner, dinner quickly became an eat and run situation as Melissa rushed to get Brooke out the door so she wouldn't be late for karate. With the radio on a low volume and Brooke talking about her day, Melissa struggled to give her daughter her full attention wanting so badly to pull the car over and get everything off her chest, but that never happened. Brooke noticed her mom's odd behavior and chose to probe the situation.

"Is everything okay mom?" Melissa gave her daughter a small smile wishing she didn't have to lie to her about her feelings, but now wasn't the right time to have such a life changing discussion.

"Yeah sweetie I'm okay; it's just been a long day and I'm pretty beat, but don't worry about me. You have to focus because tonight is your last practice before the big competition Saturday." Brooke smiled to herself feeling excited about her mom coming to watch her perform and possibly her dad as well.

"It's going to be so great; dad said he's going to try really hard to make it, I hope he can. If he does come then Amy might be with him, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, why would that be a problem?"

"I don't know…Marissa at school said her mom flipped out when her dad got a girlfriend, so I wasn't sure how you would feel about it."

"Believe me sweetie I'm okay with your dad having a girlfriend; besides that our situation is a little different then Marissa's parents. I'm just glad he's happy." Melissa forced herself to smile feeling a tinge of the green monster rise up before she quickly squashed it shaking off the feeling.

The rest of the ride was quiet with the exception of Melissa's inner thoughts going a mile a minute and Brooke singing along with the radio. When Melissa finally pulled into the parking lot of the famous Gracie Academy, she felt a sense of relief that she'd get some time to herself to sort out her thoughts because she knew she had to bring up the subject of moving on the way home.

Melissa watched Brooke walk inside before driving away shifting her focus to the long list of errands she'd been neglecting since returning from New York. After a run to the post office and a quick stop at the grocery store, she pulled into CVS to pick up her monthly birth control prescription. It was the same old routine as she walked up to the counter giving the woman her name and waiting patiently to get what she needed. After signing and paying for the script, Melissa turned to walk away from the counter stopping when she realized an unfamiliar brand name listed. Usually she wouldn't think much about it, but she wasn't a fan of her birth control being switched on a frequent basis; it messed with her hormones and seemed to make life more complicated then it had to be, two things that she was already dealing with. Turning back to the counter, she decided to question the change.

"Excuse me miss, but I'm just wondering why my prescription was changed; I usually take alysena and this is previfem. It's not that big of a deal, but at the same time it's a bit of an inconvenience."

"I understand; let me see what I can do for you." The pharmacist walked over to the computer, Melissa absentmindedly following her while perusing the shelves. "Well Miss Mercer it appears that your original brand was recalled earlier this month." Melissa rolled her eyes thinking it was probably over some sort of blood clot or high blood pressure scare, things she didn't worry about even though she probably should; while that answer satisfied her, something told her to ask what the reasoning for the recall was.

"Does it list the reason for the recall?"

"Yes, it says here that there was a mistake at the plant and rather then including seven days of placebos, the entire pack was placebos." Melissa's throat went dry as she let the words sink in; immediately her bout with the flu came to mind, the constant feeling of fatigue and the sudden realization that her period had been absent the previous month sent her into a tailspin.

"Are they sure it was every pack?"

"It's uncertain which batches were affected, but they're advising women to take a pregnancy test as a precaution. Would you like a copy of the article?" Melissa nodded, her head still spinning at the possibility that one irresponsible night could have resulted in another unplanned pregnancy.

Taking the article, Melissa sat in the car reading and rereading to make sure she understood just what was happening. In a complete daze, she drove to the next drug store over and purchased a pack of tests taking one into the restroom before leaving. Rather then waiting for the results, she drove to the park and sat in the car trying to piece together the wreckage that was her life.

Here she was, thirty years old and alone with a ten year old daughter and possibly another child on the way. Though there was the positive that both her children had the same father, their relationship was not in the right place to bring another child into the world. Besides that, how would she explain to Brooke that she was having a baby and Punk was the father? The world continued to spin as Melissa felt the need to throw up the contents of her stomach; with tears streaming down her face she looked at the test seeing the dark blue plus sign, the very sign she'd been dreading.

What was she going to do? It was hard enough taking care of one kid on her own, she couldn't imagine adding a second; then again a small part of her, a very small part, felt content that she was getting the opportunity to have another baby. However the nagging question of how she'd tell Brooke, nonetheless Punk, spoiled the content feeling. She'd sworn to him it wasn't possible, that he had nothing to worry about and now she had to be the one to tell him that she'd lied; though inadvertently, it was still a lie she'd hoped would never come to fruition.

The ringing of her phone snapped her out of the depressed, silent, sobbing state she'd fallen into and she quickly pulled herself together seeing it was Punk; taking a few deep breaths, she answered.

"Hello…"

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I have the weekend off, so I'll be at Brooke's competition Saturday, but don't tell her because I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, okay, that's great…she'll be really excited." Melissa bit her lip hoping she sounded convincing, but Punk knew her too well.

"Is everything okay with you? I didn't get a chance to talk to you after Friday night, but are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm great, just tired…between the jetlag and all the working it's been a rough week and it's not over yet."

"Well I know it's hard, but try to take care of yourself; Brooke worries about you and in return so do I."

"I'll be fine; umm speaking of my busy week, are you going to be home Friday night?"

"Yeah I will be, but its Amy's birthday, so Colt, my sisters and some friends are coming over…do you need something though?"

"Well I don't want to mess up any plans, but I'll be in town for an interview and I need to talk to you about a few things."

"Interview, does that mean you're moving back?"

"Nothing is set in stone, I need to ace the interview, but the big wigs in Chicago are aware of who I am and what I've been up to the past few months. I've been trying to bring up the topic of moving with Brooke the past few days, but I'm having a hard time."

"Well if you want we can talk to her together, maybe have a family dinner after her competition Saturday…"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, but if you could pencil me in at some point Friday so we can discuss that and a few other things that would be great."

"No problem, just call me when you're done with your interview and we'll meet up." Melissa nodded to herself trying to stay calm, but her clammy, shaking hands told another story. Catching a glimpse of the time, she realized she was going to be late to pick up Brooke if she didn't go now.

"Okay then I'll call you Friday…" Melissa hung up after a brief goodbye and pulled down her overhead visor checking her reflection; she looked the same way she felt on the inside, like a hot mess.

* * *

**So most of you figured this was the case with how she'd gotten sick in New York, but I thought I'd throw in the birth control mishap so it's not like she tried to trap him or something...kind of scary I googled to get some names of birth control (yes I use google frequently for fan fic purposes...need some accuracy) and there's way too many birth control pills recalled for this reason...craziness! Anyway, hope it was worth the wait...**

**Next chapter: Melissa goes to Chicago and has her interview, she meets up with Punk and lays out the hot mess that is her life, and Punk makes the trip to Cali to see Brooke in her first competition...will he blame Melissa for this mess, or will he be understanding and supportive?**

**No promises, but hopefully I'll have something up by the weekend at the latest...enjoy Memorial Day for those of you in the US of A and for everyone enjoy Raw (even though it most likely won't feature our beloved Straight Edge Superstar)...Please review! Thanks!**


	24. Chapter 24

**My apologies guys, but after I posted last week my week went down hill...I was down for the count for four days with a terrible flu virus only to rebound Monday and score a new job :) With every bad, there's a good...hope it stays that way...**

**Anyway, the long awaited chapter you've been waiting for where Melissa reveals to Punk that he's going to be a daddy...again...a lot of reviews unsure how he'd react to the situation, curious what you guys think about his reaction...**

**Thanks for the support, please keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing and posting as quick as I can :)**

* * *

Melissa couldn't stop fidgeting as she sat in a back booth of an old diner she used to frequent as a teenager clicking her fingernails against her cup of tea. She took another deep breath trying to relax, but there was no use; she was about to come face to face with Punk and tell him everything. She'd rehearsed their conversation throughout the duration of her flight to Chicago, and even though she knew she should've been focusing on her interview, her thoughts kept going to her impending conversation with Punk wondering what he'd say and how he'd react. In her mind she tried to think positive, but she knew there was a big possibility he'd go in the opposite direction; taking another deep breath she closed her eyes, opening them as she exhaled to find Punk sitting across from her with his trademark Cubs hat and a sly smile on his lips.

"Hey, are you feeling okay? You're not getting sick again are you?" Melissa tried to give him a small smile as she shook her head knowing the real reason for her sickness and also knowing he'd know the truth in time. "So how'd the interview go?"

"Interview…of course…it went well; once all the paperwork goes through I'll be transferring to the Chicago office."

"Mel that is so great! Think of how much easier things will be for Brooke and you'll be back home where you belong." Melissa nodded again trying to think of how to bring up the main thing she'd wanted to tell him, but before she could say anything, Punk sensed there was something up. "This is what you want right?"

"Yeah…of course…"

"Are you sure? Even though this will be easier on Brooke, this is your career and I don't want you to feel like you have to move back because of me."

"No, I know this is my choice and I want to move back. Brooke might not like the idea, but I have a feeling she'll be more accepting of moving then she will of the other things going on…" Punk raised his eyebrow taking note of what she'd said.

"Other things, what other things? What's up Mel? I know things have been different with us the last few months, but I'm here to listen if you need to talk. Despite everything I still consider you one of my best friends." Melissa swallowed the lump in her throat knowing now was the time to put all the cards on the table, but the look of sincerity in his hazel eyes had her hesitating. He was happy where he was in life and she couldn't bear to be the person to ruin that.

"It's nothing; life has just been a little stressful lately with the business trips I've had to take and Brooke's tournament coming up tomorrow, but they're starting to settle down; we'll be fine, everything will be fine." She gave him a genuine smile hoping he'd buy it and upon seeing his smile in return she felt a bit at ease, but the feeling of guilt still overwhelmed her as she began debating hiding this life changing secret from him.

Luckily she didn't have much time to debate the matter as his phone rang interrupting their coffee chat. He talked for a few minutes and Melissa noticed the big smile on his face making her heart ache a little bit more. She hadn't seen him smile that way in some time and didn't want to ruin his newfound happiness, happiness that wasn't with her or brought on by her. Feeling the need to get as far away from him as possible, she gathered her things motioning toward the door; Punk noticed her sudden need to depart and hung up with his sister instructing her to text him a list of what they needed for the party.

Punk thought he'd be running down the street, but was surprised to find Melissa standing outside the diner.

"Sorry to rush out like that, but I need to get going; I'm catching the red eye out tonight."

"Oh well then I guess I'll see you and Brooke tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we'll be there; thanks for meeting up with me and agreeing to talk this whole thing out with Brooke, I think it'll make it easier on her if she sees we're together with this."

"Of course; I know you'd do the same for me, it's what friends do right?" She nodded before being caught off guard by Punk pulling her in for a hug. As much as she felt the need to collapse in his arms and let everything go, she knew she had to hold it together until she figured out what was next. "Congratulations again Mel; I'm looking forward to you coming back home, I mean that." Punk pulled back pressing a light kiss to Melissa's cheek before sending a wink in her direction and turning to leave.

Melissa let out a sigh as she began walking in the other direction knowing she'd lost her big chance of telling him about the baby, but the fear of the unknown was crippling to her and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin his life for a second time.

* * *

"SURPRISE!"

Punk smiled at Amy's reaction mentally patting himself on the back as he managed to pull off a surprise 38th birthday party with the help of his sisters, Colt and a few close friends.

"What is all this?"

"What does it look like? Happy birthday babe; I know I haven't been around a lot lately, so I wanted to make it up to you. I know you're not big on surprises, but I figured if I kept it small, you'd be okay with it."

"I'm more then okay with it, I love it. Thank you, this means a lot to me that you care this much to make such a big deal out of just another day."

"It's not just another day, it's your birthday and you only get one of those a year, so you might as well enjoy it." Amy smiled at his sweet words before pressing her lips to his; she knew she was lucky, there was never any doubt about that, but she still had her worries and reservations with Punk. However, she let them drift away for the evening as she began mingling through the house catching up with old friends.

Punk was in the kitchen helping Chez with the cake when his phone buzzed from his pocket. As much as he tried to ignore it, the buzzing continued and his curiosity got the best of him seeing most of the people that would text him were currently eating cheetos in his living room.

**_I know you're busy tonight and I'm sorry for interrupting, but there's something you need to know. I thought long and hard about how I could deal with this on my own, but I can't deny that you need to know the truth because it affects you just as much as it affects me. Can you meet me in the park in 20 minutes?-Mel_**

Punk was beyond puzzled by the text and even though he knew he should hold off on going to see Melissa, his curiosity had gotten the best of him. Chez noticed this as she nudged him from his inner thoughts.

"Are you okay? You look a little lost…" He shook his head to clear out the fuzziness and confusion and simply nodded.

"Ahh yeah I'll be okay; listen Chez I know this is asking a lot of you, but can you cover for me for a few minutes? I need to take care of something."

"What do you need to take care of?" Punk let out a sigh knowing his long time best friend wasn't going to drop this until he told her what was up, so against his better judgment he showed her the text. She shook her head curious just what Melissa was up to.

"Didn't you just see her this afternoon?"

"Yeah…"

"What could she possibly tell you?"

"I have no idea Chez; maybe she changed her mind about moving here, that's all I can think of."

"Well I hope that's not the case and if it is she needs to stop playing head games and messing with peoples lives." Punk put up his hands signaling he didn't want to hear any more instead grabbing his keys and heading toward the door, but he was unfortunately intercepted before he made it out.

"Where are you going; you can't leave my party!" Punk smiled at Amy while thinking up an excuse for his temporary absence.

"I need to go grab some ice…"

"But you have an ice maker…" Punk nodded realizing that probably wasn't the best lie he could've pulled out.

"Yeah I do, but it's been acting up all day, so I'm just going to run and grab some." He expected more questions, but instead Amy smiled planting another kiss to his lips.

* * *

Melissa felt more nervous sitting in the park then she had at the diner, something she didn't see as being possible, but there wasn't going to be anymore hiding or lying. She had to tell him straight out that she was pregnant with his child even though she was still terrified with what his reaction would be.

Punk pulled up to the park and spotted Mel sitting at one of the benches near the front; seeing it was nearly ten, the place was deserted which made him even more nervous with what she might want to talk about. He sat next to her noticing her shaking hands and couldn't help but feel a sense of concern.

"What's going on Mel?" She was quiet as the tears started falling from her eyes, "Why are you so upset? Did you decide not to move back; is there something wrong with Brooke? Please tell me what's wrong so maybe I can help fix things."

"There's no way to fix this; I've tried to think of what to do so that I don't ruin your life, but there's no way around it. If I don't tell you then you'll hate me, but if I do I don't know how you'll react…" Her sobs were more erratic and Punk became more concerned with what she was keeping from him.

"Melissa please just tell me…" He placed his hand over hers to try to console her, but his touch just made her cry harder. She could feel her lungs constricting as she gasped for air; squeezing her eyes shut, she buried her face in her hands finally letting the words spill out of her mouth.

"I'm pregnant…" The feeling of relief washed over her as she attempted to compose herself, but the sound of silence made her realize that the happy reaction she'd planned out in her mind wasn't coming. Dropping her hands from her face as she continued to sniffle, she dared to peek at Punk using her peripheral vision; he was leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees while running his hands over his head repeatedly. "Please say something…"

Punk jumped up from the bench and began pacing before her with every possible emotion running through him, but he still didn't know how to react at first. Stopping suddenly he couldn't even bare to look at Melissa feeling a sense of anger that she'd once again tried to keep this to herself.

"You said this wasn't a possibility, that you were on the pill…is this some kind of entrapment plan? One kid wasn't enough of an attachment for you?" Melissa's eyes went wide as she let the harsh words sink in. He honestly thought she'd lied all along and had gotten pregnant on purpose, what had she done that was so bad to give him this idea?

"Phil I'm sorry; this wasn't supposed to happen, I sure as hell didn't plan it. It's hard enough to raise one kid on your own, so two kids by yourself is something I don't even want to think about. Do you honestly think I'd do this on purpose?" He didn't answer as she noticed his clenched jaw, a sure sign that he was furious.

"I don't know what to think with you Melissa; for all I know the kid isn't even mine and you're just looking for someone to pin it on." Melissa bit her tongue trying to rationalize to herself that he was angry and didn't mean anything he was saying, but his words struck a chord. She struggled trying to come up with something, anything to say to him, but he'd already accused her of getting pregnant on purpose and was now questioning the paternity; she didn't want to think about what else he could throw at her. Fortunately she didn't have to worry about it as he shook his head turning to leave without saying so much as another word.

* * *

**Was anyone expecting this reaction? Let me know what you think about Punk not being so nice, but brutally honest instead...**

**Next chapter: Melissa and Punk come face to face again at Brooke's tournament...will they work everything out? What will Brooke think about moving and the new baby?**

**I'll update as soon as I can guys, but bear with me :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A lot of mixed reactions about last chapter, but for the most part it seems many of you expected Punk to act that way, though it was still dick nonetheless...Despite his thinking, Melissa didn't get pregnant on purpose, and this chapter will bring the two together again as Brooke prepares for her first tournament...**

**Thanks so much for the reviews guys, they hit 200 today :) Also thanks to the new readers that are finding this story and enjoying it...busy first week at the new job up ahead, but I'm going to try to write in the evenings and get something posted later this week...enjoy!**

* * *

Punk sat in his driveway staring at his hands on the steering wheel for over an hour. His phone vibrated and rang repeatedly, but he ignored it finding it hard to get over what had just happened.

It was like the first time all over again watching the tears flood from her eyes as she told him she was expecting, her voice full of shame and guilt that this had happened a second time and she'd tried to keep it from him. He could tell Mel was putting all the blame on herself and rather then take some it, he'd said some of the most hurtful words that had ever come out of his mouth. Granted Punk was known for his brutal honesty and not having a filter from him brain to his mouth, but afterwards even he couldn't believe the accusations he'd thrown at her. He was a man of few regrets, but this was a big one that he wasn't sure he could fix.

Putting himself in her shoes, Punk realized that not only would he never speak to Mel again, but he sure as hell wouldn't move closer to her. In fact he was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see Brooke or their new baby; she had every right to shut him off from seeing their kids, but he hoped she wouldn't go that route. Brooke was now apart of him; she was so much like him that it was scary sometimes and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit excited to hear he was becoming a father again, but with that excitement came more fear and frustration then he could handle; thus the regretted words came out of his mouth.

He took a deep breath closing his eyes and thinking of how he could fix this, but was interrupted by Colt pushing his face up against the window. Despite jumping at the noise, Punk managed to laugh as his best friend made goofy faces; Colt's adolescent comedic ways were something that he usually rolled his eyes at, but at that moment he needed the mood lightened. Punk opened the door climbing out of his SUV and coming face to face with Colt who immediately knew there was something up.

"What's going on man? You just abandoned your girlfriends surprise party that I know you busted your ass to put together, that's not like you." Punk nodded looking down at the ground and kicking around a stray rock.

"How pissed is Amy?"

"On a scale of one to ten I'd say a thirteen, but she's hiding it well. So where did you disappear to?" Punk thought about making up an excuse, but he knew Colt would see right through it. Besides that if Mel was still crazy enough to move to Chicago despite how he'd reacted to her news, he'd find out sooner or later just like everyone else. Letting out a deep breath, he leaned against his SUV and let it out.

"I went to see Melissa and she told me she's pregnant."

"Oh man...I guess that's good news for her, but what is it to you? It's not like the kid is yours, you've been with Amy." Punk's silence said it all as Colt shook his head beginning to pace. "Jesus Christ Phil! Have you never heard of a condom?"

"It's not like they're fool proof, how do you think Brooke got here?"

"When did this happen?"

"A few months back when I went to Vegas for the UFC fights. You couldn't go last minute, so I had an extra ticket and Mel was alone on her birthday, so I took her. We had a nice night and I don't know how it happened, but one thing lead to another and we slept together. I realized that I wanted to see if there was still that spark between us and wanted to give it another try, but the next morning she flaked on me and said it was a mistake."

"Well how do you know 100% this is your kid?"

"Colt she told me she hadn't been with anyone since Brooke was born, which means she's only been with me."

"Girls say shit like that all the time..."

"True and maybe I'm an idiot for buying it, but I don't think she's lying. It's not like it matters though because she told me and I immediately accused her of entrapment and then questioned the paternity, so who knows if I'll ever see this kid or Brooke ever again."

"She wouldn't do that; if she didn't want you in the picture she never would've told Brooke you were her dad when she asked."

"I hope you're right, but I feel terrible for the things I said; it was like I was having an out of body experience where I kept telling myself to shut up, but these terrible, angry, hurtful things just kept coming out like word vomit."

"Word vomit is the worst...I know you're kind of all over the place with this, but you need to pull yourself together and talk to Amy."

"I don't even know what to tell her; should I just tell her about this whole baby thing?"

"And ruin her birthday even more, that's not exactly wise..."

"You're right man...I'll have to face it sooner or later, but now isn't the right time. Just please leave this between us; I'll tell everyone else once I make things right with Mel, willing she'll ever speak to me again." Colt rested his hand on Punk's shoulder pulling him in for a manly embrace.

"I'm sure everything will work out, but I must say I figured I'd be in a position like this before you."

"Well let this be a lesson to you, don't be irresponsible...better yet just don't have sex with women, it complicates everything."

"Even though I like sex, I never get any, so I think I'll be okay..."

* * *

Melissa turned off her alarm, but stayed in bed staring out the window. She was exhausted from the happenings of the last twenty four hours, unable to sleep as the events of the night before played on repeat in her head. As much as she tried to shrug off what Punk had said, every word stuck making her feel a sick stabbing pain in her stomach. Checking her phone, she wondered if maybe he would have texted to apologize or left a voicemail saying something, but there was nothing showing her that he clearly didn't regret his actions furthermore making her think she deserved everything she'd gotten.

Letting out a sigh, she threw back the blankets heading for the shower. Despite everything that had happened the night before, Melissa knew she had to put on a smile and be the bigger person today. Brooke was expecting to see both of her parents at her tournament and that's exactly what she'd get. Even though the wounds from his words were still very fresh, she knew she had to push everything aside and interact with Punk for the day if only for the sake of their daughter. Melissa wasn't sure if they would both present the idea of moving to Brooke, or if she'd be left on her own there.

Part of her wanted to decline the offer to transfer to the Chicago office, but she knew that wouldn't change anything. Regardless what Punk's thoughts were about the new baby, she knew he'd still be in Brooke's life; that was something that she couldn't take away from either of them even though at the moment she wanted nothing more then to snap her fingers and make the last six months go away. Melissa couldn't deny that Brooke needed her father in her life, and while Punk was proving to be a good dad, she still found life to be much easier when it was just the two of them.

Stepping out of the shower, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and knew she'd need extra make-up to get through the day. The bags under her eyes were heavy from the lack of sleep and constant stress in her life; the hours she'd spent crying hadn't helped her looks either. For the first time in a long time she noticed her physical age catching up with her mental one; she'd always passed as being at least two years younger then she actually was, but today she felt forty five and was looking to be pushing thirty six. Feelings of self-loathing kicked in as she hated the fact that she let her emotions take hold of her and turn her into the mess before her, but the sound of Brooke running up the stairs brought her out of it.

"Mom, where's my black belt?" Melissa shook her head trying to push aside the turmoil she was feeling and put on the happy mom face.

"It should be in your bag, but if it isn't there then check the laundry room."

"I found it…" Melissa shook her head finding a distraction hearing the door bell ring. Giving herself a quick once over in the mirror, she quickly shrugged rushing down the stairs to answer the door and immediately regretting it as she found Punk standing at her door step. Rather then greeting him, she walked away finding a need to busy herself settling on an unfolded basket of laundry. Unfortunately for her, Punk wasn't about to let her go that easily.

"Can we take a couple minutes and talk about last night…"

"What about it? I think you said everything you needed to, or at least for my sake I hope you did." Punk let out a sigh finding that Melissa was not going to let her guard down and listen, not that he could blame her at all.

"Mel I'm sorry about what I said…" His apology caught Melissa's attention, but to his dismay she wasn't so accepting of it.

"Which part? The part where you accused me of doing this on purpose, or when you basically called me a whore by denying this baby could be yours? This might be hard for you to understand, but as much as I've thought about having another baby, this is not in any way the right time and the fact that it is yours doesn't help matters either. It's just my luck that I'm not with anyone for ten years and the first time I'm stupid enough to go there, I pay for it with the biggest consequence." Melissa bit her cheek trying to hold herself together, but he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Everything I said last night was just stupid and I didn't mean any of it. You have to understand where I'm coming from here…"

"Let me guess you're scared right? Well welcome to my world Phil! No worries though because I'm letting you off the hook. Brooke and I are moving to Chicago because it's good for us, it has nothing to do with you. I hope that despite everything you still continue to be a father to Brooke, but as far as this new baby goes I'll handle everything."

"Please don't be like this…"

"Don't be like what?" Punk thought for a minute trying to word his response carefully, but their conversation was interrupted as Brooke entered the room.

"Mom can we go soon?" Brooke found her mom in the laundry room and quickly noticed the presence of her dad, her smile doubling in size. "Dad, you made it!" Brooke jumped into his arms squeezing him tight.

"Of course, there was no way I was missing your first jiu-jitsu tournament. I've been talking to Rener and he says you've been improving a lot. I'm so proud of you…" Punk squeezed Brooke tight meeting Melissa's gaze for a moment before she broke it.

"I'm going to take your laundry upstairs and give you a few minutes to catch up with your dad and then we'll go." Melissa picked up the basket walking out of the room as fast as she could hoping that neither Punk or Brooke caught sight of the tears falling down her cheeks.

* * *

Much to Melissa's dismay, Brooke had insisted that Punk ride to the tournament with them. Letting out a sigh and once again reminding herself to be the bigger person, she put on her sunglasses and got comfortable in the driver's seat trying her best to ignore the person sitting beside her.

The thirty minute drive started out quiet until Brooke brought up the million dollar question, "So dad, where's Amy? I thought she was going to come with you today…" Melissa let down her guard curious just what the answer to this question was. Had he told Amy about the baby? If so she was sure Punk wasn't Amy's favorite person right now; it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out Amy was in no way Melissa's biggest fan.

"She wanted to come, but something came up…" Melissa raised her eyebrow noticing his brief answer that provided little explanation. She did her best to ignore the rest of their conversation, but as their journey stalled thanks to weekend traffic, Punk decided to engage Melissa in conversation.

"Mel you should probably take the south ramp up ahead and then we can jump on the 95 exit and avoid any more traffic." Melissa's grip on the steering wheel tightened; there were fewer things she hated more in life then a passenger seat driver, especially one that didn't even live in California.

"I think we're fine where we're at Phil; I know this route pretty well seeing I drive it once a week."

"I understand that, but we're losing precious time here and if you stay on this route there's a good chance Brooke will be late…"

"Late? Mom am I going to be late? I can't be late or they won't let me compete!" Melissa closed her eyes taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She was becoming more agitated with Punk as he'd now gotten Brooke wound up.

"You're not going to be late; we left the house early enough that a little traffic isn't going to cause issue."

"It might not cause issue, but I guarantee if you stay in this lane we're going to be cutting it close and Brooke is like me she likes to be there early. She needs to get her stretches in and get in the zone…"

Melissa continued to hear Punk babbling on making her head spin and the mild cramping in her stomach intensify. She didn't need this added stress right now and if it helped to take his suggested route that's what she was going to do. "Will you please just stop? I'll take the ramp, just please…" Melissa took the south ramp taking deep breaths to calm down, but the cramping persisted making her stress level rise. As much as she wanted to be there for Brooke, she was beginning to think something was seriously wrong.

The rest of the car ride was quiet and as Melissa pulled into the parking lot, Brooke was quick to jump out, but Punk remained sensing there was something off.

"What's going on?" Melissa shook her head trying to play off there was any kind of problem, but Punk knew better. "You might think you're good at hiding it, but I can tell you're in pain right now. Is it the baby, is there something wrong?"

Melissa let go of the tears she'd been holding in, "I think so, but I don't know what exactly."

"Well we need to get you to a hospital and get everything checked out."

"No! Brooke has been training for this tournament and looking forward to it, we can't both miss it or she'll be devastated."

"I think she'll understand…"

"Just please go and be with her; Jessica's family was coming today too, so she has plenty of support. I'll just go to the hospital on my own…"

"You're going alone; do you really think that's a wise choice? What if…" Punk paused unable to bring himself to say what he was thinking; despite everything that had happened between them when news that Melissa was expecting broke, he still couldn't stop caring about their growing child or Melissa for that matter.

"I'll deal with the what if, just please go be with Brooke right now. This was my mistake to begin with and like I said at the house, you're off the hook."

As much as Punk didn't want to, he got out of the car. Watching Melissa drive away, he couldn't shake the sick feeling in his stomach that something very bad was about to happen and he wasn't sure how either of them would recover.

* * *

**A bit of a cliffhanger there, but everything will be cleared up next chapter...all signs point to miscarriage, and if that's the case, you have to wonder just how Melissa and Punk will cope with the loss and how or if they'll tell Brooke...**


	26. Chapter 26

**Long awaited update for a lot of you...sorry to leave you hanging, but this week was the first week at my new job and it was a very long, crazy, intense week...however I'm back now and you'll finally get to find out what happens to the newest Baby Punk...**

**Thanks for all the reviews...I hope this chapter appeases you all and you keep coming back for more b/c I've got quite a bit of story left with this one and I have a sequel idea in the works as well, but I'm trying to ignore said idea and finish this first...enjoy and please let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

Punk watched on as Brooke began the second round of competition; as much as he wanted all of his focus to be on his daughter's performance, his mind was elsewhere. He'd texted Melissa over a dozen times and hadn't heard anything in return making the sick feeling in his stomach grow worse. As much as he knew Melissa was right saying that he should be there for Brooke, he felt an overwhelming amount of guilt and concern for Melissa as a number of scenarios went through his head, the worst replaying over and over again.

There was no doubt that she was a strong person and could handle anything; the fact that she'd been a single mom for ten years showed that, but he wasn't sure she could handle hearing that she'd had a miscarriage on her own. Even though there hadn't been a lot of positive conversation about the new baby, Punk wasn't dumb and he knew she wanted to keep the kid, she'd even admitted it. At the age of thirty her clock was ticking and the fact that she couldn't find a decent guy to settle down with meant that she had to take what she could get.

Checking his phone for the fifteenth time, he was relieved to see Melissa had texted back, but only slightly seeing she still hadn't seen a doctor. Taking a deep breath, he continued to look on as Brooke made a flawless save advancing to the final round in her age group. Punk was quick to put a smile on his lips as his daughter ran towards him beaming with pride.

"Did you see that pin?" Punk gave her a high five before pulling her in for a hug.

"I did, it was amazing…I'm sure Mr. Gracie will be proud because I know I am." Brooke's smile grew wider after hearing that she'd gained her father's approval, but she quickly noticed someone was missing.

"Where's mom? I looked for her earlier, but I haven't seen her." Punk took a deep breath searching his head for an excuse quickly remembering Brooke didn't buy into bullshit…she was way too much like him. He pulled her close running his hands up and down her arms to try to comfort her.

"I don't want you to worry because everything is okay, but your mom had to go to the hospital…" Brooke's eyes went wide as her dad's words sank in, the worst case scenarios running through her head.

"The hospital? Is she sick again? We need to go see her, she can't be alone!" Punk picked up Brooke holding her close to try to calm her down, but he knew she was right, Melissa shouldn't have been alone.

"Listen to me please…" Brooke looked into his eyes as Punk began wiping the stray tears from her face. "I promise you everything is going to be okay, but I need you to stay here and finish this competition because that's what your mom wants. If you want I can stay here…"

"No dad you need to go be with her! I don't care about this stupid competition, it doesn't matter anymore…" He nodded afraid that he'd just talked her into quitting, something he didn't want to do. "You need to go be with mom and after I win then I'll come too." Punk couldn't resist smiling after hearing her comment; she was so sure of herself, yet another trait they shared.

"That's my girl…" Punk hugged her tight placing a kiss to her forehead before running to catch a cab.

* * *

Melissa picked at her fingernails trying to take her focus away from the pain in her abdomen, but things weren't looking good. She'd discovered once she'd arrived at the hospital that she'd been bleeding a lot, a sure sign that the accidental pregnancy she'd gotten herself into was no more. Tears started to fall again as she began blaming herself for the possible loss; what could have been her last chance to be a mother was destroyed because she couldn't take two seconds to take care of herself. Her self-loathing was interrupted as she heard commotion in the hallway, a nurse yelling at an unwanted guest.

"Sir come back here! You can't go in there!" Melissa looked up in awe as she watched Punk skid to a stop and walk into her room breathlessly, the middle aged nurse hot on his heels. "Miss Mercer I apologize for this, I tried to tell this gentleman that he couldn't come back here, but he took matters into his own hands; security is on there way to take care of the matter…"

"No…" Melissa was almost surprised to hear the word come out of her mouth and borderline shocked when she realized she meant what she was saying. "It's okay, he can stay…he's the father…" The nurse nodded giving Melissa a sympathetic smile before glaring at Punk.

"I see…anyway the doctor will be in shortly…" Melissa nodded watching as the nurse closed the door before turning her attention to Punk.

"What are you doing here? I specifically told you to stay with Brooke!"

"I'm aware what you told me, but we both decided that it wasn't okay for you to be here alone." Melissa closed her eyes realizing just how selfless her daughter was, something that was very rare at such a young age.

"So you told her…"

"No, I didn't go into specifics because I figured we should know what's going on before bringing her into the mix. What is going on?" Melissa shrugged her shoulders feeling another onset of tears.

"The doctor hasn't confirmed anything, but it's not looking good. The cramping has only intensified and I noticed once I got here that I was bleeding pretty heavily…" Her voice faded off unable to say anymore as the tears continued to flow. Punk was never very good with crying women, but in that moment he knew he had to do something as he sat on the edge of the bed taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. Even though Melissa was forced to feel the physical part of this tragic event, he felt his heart ache as well wishing that he could take back the way he'd reacted to her news.

"I'm so sorry Mel…" Melissa continued to sit quietly taking solace in the small circles Punk rubbed on the back of her hand.

The doctor arrived in the room a few minutes later bringing along a portable ultrasound machine. Punk stood up to leave the room figuring Melissa would want some privacy, but she quietly squeezed his hand while shaking her head giving him the go ahead to stay. Not only did she need him for strength, but the baby was also his and he deserved to hear the outcome first hand.

It only took a few minutes to confirm the miscarriage, but neither Mel nor Punk had a moment to morn as the whooshing sound of a heartbeat could be heard. Melissa recognized the sound and immediately questioned it.

"I don't really understand what's happening…"

"Well Miss Mercer I'm going to send you for a more thorough ultrasound, but it appears that this is a case of vanishing twin syndrome."

"Twins?" Punk managed to mutter out despite the overwhelming dry sensation in his mouth making it hard for him to speak.

"Yes you heard correctly. This is actually more common then people think, but basically there were two sacs and for one reason or another one has miscarried, but you still have another and from the sounds of it the remaining baby is healthy and forming normally. The heart rate registered at 107, which is strong for six weeks gestation. I'll have the nurse come in and take you down for a second ultrasound, but while I'm sorry for your loss, there's still a reason to celebrate."

The senior doctor left the room as Punk and Melissa continued to sit in silence until the nurse came to take Melissa for her second opinion. Punk continued to sit by the empty bed completely dumbfounded by everything that had just happened, but relieved that Melissa was okay. As much as he'd promised Brooke she'd be fine, even he wasn't one hundred percent sure she would be. Just then Brooke entered the room carrying a first place trophy and was immediately terrified at the site of the empty bed. Luckily Punk had heard her come in and was quick to connect the dots and console her.

"She's okay, she just went downstairs for a couple tests, but she should be back in a few minutes." Despite her dad's attempt to console her, Brooke was still very concerned and very much thinking the worst.

"She's okay now, but what about later? Is she really sick? Is it cancer? Ashley's mom died of cancer and I don't want that to happen to her…" Brooke burst into tears as Punk tried his best to keep consoling her. _Thinking the worst in a situation…she does not get that from me…_

Punk was thankful to see Melissa appear in the doorway at that minute, "A little help here please…" Brooke turned around to see her mom sitting in a wheelchair and cried even harder.

"Brooke please calm down and tell me what's wrong…" Brooke continued to sob leaving Melissa to look in Punk's direction taking note when he mouthed _'She thinks it's cancer'_ leaving her to hold Brooke even tighter. "Sweetie I promise you I don't have cancer, in fact I'm free to go home." Brooke sat up beginning to wipe the tears from her face before looking from her mom to her dad and then back to her mom.

"Well if it's not cancer, then why are you in the hospital?" Melissa pursed her lips looking to Punk for some guidance; she knew he was usually good with words and hoped he'd find the right ones.

Punk took a deep breath before kneeling down and taking Brooke's hand in his left hand and Melissa's in his right. "Well Brooke how do you feel about being a big sister?"

* * *

Brooke sat at the kitchen table continuing to stare down both of her parents. They'd spilled the beans that her mom was expecting and while she understood how babies were made, she was still confused how her parents had made one.

"So let me get this straight, this new kid is yours too?" Brooke looked in her dad's direction with an eyebrow raised.

"We've been over this, yes, the baby your mom is carrying is my baby."

"But how?" Punk dropped his fork finding that he'd lost his appetite as he silently pleaded with Melissa across the table to please end the very awkward conversation.

"Brooke we've discussed how babies are made…"

"Yeah I know, but you two don't love each other."

"On the contrary, your dad and I love each other very much, but it's a different kind of love. Don't worry about the specifics, all you need to know is that we love you very much and we're going to love this baby just as much."

"Right…" Punk stood up from the table wanting to get as far away from the awkwardness as possible.

"I'm going to go for a walk, maybe find some rope and a tree…anything to forget this conversation just happened…"

"Phil!"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting for her to know all about the birds and the bees at the age of ten! I'm pretty sure I wasn't informed of any of this stuff until I was at least thirteen and that's only because things started happening…."

"What kinds of things? Do boys get a period too?" Punk glanced at his daughter noticing that her question was in all seriousness.

"I'm really hoping this one is a boy or the next eighteen years with all of us in the same city will prove to be interesting."

"Are you moving to California?" Punk realized what he'd said as he slowly sat back down meeting Melissa's eyes across the table.

"Well kiddo besides the big addition to our family, we're also moving to Chicago." Melissa glanced at Brooke noticing her face falling at the news. Even though she'd hoped Brooke would take it well, clearly she was having the opposite reaction.

"But I don't want to move! All of my friends are here, so is my school and my room!"

"I know it's going to be hard sweetie, but think of all the fun you had in Chicago when you went to visit your dad. Plus you'll have the chance to make new friends and you'll have two bedrooms. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

"No! It sounds stupid and I'm not going! You two can move to Chicago with your new baby and just forget about me; I don't want to be apart of this family anymore!"

"Brooke Marie that's enough; I understand you're upset, but it is not acceptable for you to act this way." With that Brooke got up from the table knocking her chair to the floor and running up the stairs to her room, slamming the door so that it echoed through the house. Melissa sighed as she covered her face with her hands.

"What do we do now?" Punk thought for a minute, an idea quickly coming to mind, but he wasn't sure if Melissa would go for it.

"Well we should keep her environment as familiar as possible…"

"I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"This might sound absolutely insane to you and I haven't fully thought it through, but it'll help all of us in the long run."

"Can you just cut to the chase please?"

"Move in with me…"

* * *

**;) You're Welcome (per Damian Sandow's voice)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Seriously cannot believe it's been over 2 weeks since I've updated and I'm super sorry guys, but I'm back with a new chapter that includes some juicy stuff :)**

**I'm beyond happy to see Mr. Punk back on WWE television; granted they managed to make a few decent Raw episodes without him, but I was very happy to see his return at Payback and very surprised he actually wrestled...it shocked me even more that they're turning him face again, but honestly regardless if he's face or heel, he's entertaining as hell, so I'll continue to be a fan :)**

**Thanks for the reviews, especially for the new readers giving me feedback on back chapters as well as ideas for future ones...I hope this chapter makes up for my absence and hopefully I'll get a chance to write more because I don't like going longer then a week without updating, but work has been crazy thus the lack of updates...anyway, enough rambling, I hope you enjoy this one! :D**

* * *

Melissa burst out laughing at Punk's idea to have her and Brooke move in with him, but quickly stopped when she noticed he was serious.

"Oh my God, you're serious about this? Have you really thought about this? Hello Phillip, you have a girlfriend and I don't think she'd be thrilled with the idea of me moving into your house!"

"It was just a thought and as far as Amy is concerned I don't know where we stand." Melissa chewed her lip dying to get the details, but not wanting to prod into his personal life; in the end her curiosity won out.

"Did you tell her about the baby?"

"Not yet, but I plan on doing so once I get back home and I know she's not going to be thrilled."

"I kind of figured I wasn't one of her favorite people…" Melissa got quiet for a minute as she stared at her hands. "I'm sorry for ruining your life a second time…" Punk let out a sigh reaching across the table and resting his hand on hers.

"Mel please look at me," Melissa was hesitant, but gradually raised her eyes to meet his. "You're not solely responsible for the mess we're in right now and regardless what you're thinking right now this isn't the end of the world for me. Does it complicate things? Absolutely, but I've adjusted before and I'll do it again; I know I wasn't exactly receptive to this news, but I'm kind of looking forward to being there for everything." Melissa smirked feeling a sense of relief at the realization that Punk was on board and she wouldn't have to go at this alone, but she was still torn as to if moving in with him was a good idea.

"I'm relieved to hear all that, but I'm still not so sure moving in with you is the right move."

"Well it doesn't have to be a permanent thing; you could live there just until you find somewhere else in the area and then Brooke can split her time between us. I have plenty of room and for the next few weeks my schedule is pretty packed, so I'll almost never be home."

Melissa contemplated the offer for a few minutes making a mental list of pros and cons. On the upside, moving in with Punk would cut down on her stress level and she'd be able to take her time finding a suitable place. Also Brooke was familiar with his house; she even had her own room, so it could make the transition easier for her. The downside was that she'd be depending on him for an unknown period of time, interacting with him more then she already did and she wasn't sure that was such a good idea. Taking a deep breath, Melissa rubbed her temples. Punk could see she was torn on what decision to make and decided to cut in and lessen the stress and tension.

"You don't have to decide right now; take a few days to think it over and maybe even talk to Brooke about it. While you're doing that I'm going to let my sisters and Amy know about our current situation, that is if it's okay with you."

"I think that would be best, especially Amy. Even though I've never met her directly, I've heard a lot about her and Brooke really likes her, so I'm urging you to try to make it work with her." Melissa swallowed finding it hard to say what she knew needed to be said. "She's good for you Phil, you should hold on to her if you can." Punk nodded feeling a little shocked to hear what Melissa said as well as curious as to if she meant it.

"Today has been quite a day, so I'm going to head to bed, but you're welcome to crash on the couch if you'd like." Melissa rose from the table feeling a sudden eagerness to get away from Punk, but she shrugged it off accounting it all to exhaustion.

"Thanks, but I'm actually staying at a hotel not too far from here. I'm scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning, but I can change that if you think we should talk to Brooke again."

"I think she'll be okay, she just needs time to get used to the idea of moving and gaining a sibling. As hard as I thought all of this was on the two of us, she's really struggling. Hopefully with a little time to think she'll come around because I'd really hate to move her to Chicago as she's kicking and screaming."

"I think you're right, she'll come around. I know it's a lot of change for her in a short period of time, but she's a tough kid, she'll adjust just fine. As for you, don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

Melissa gave him a small smile, "That means a lot to me; thanks for not listening to me today and coming to the hospital. As much as I'd convinced myself that I could handle the outcome myself, I wasn't prepared for any news."

"It all worked out; sort of…as disappointed as I am that we lost one baby, I'm more relieved and excited that we still have another chance. I know you'll take good care of yourself and our spawn. Speaking of which you should head to bed, you need plenty of rest and should start taking those special vitamins." Melissa scrunched her eyebrows wondering when he'd become such a pregnancy guru. "I read some pamphlets while you were getting the second ultrasound, there wasn't much else to do and I needed to get my mind off of the worst case scenarios. Plus I was still in shock over the whole vanishing twin thing and reading calms me down; I knew I had to be the calm one, I've always had to be the one that holds everyone together."

"That's because you're so good at it; you have a way with words and definitely helped me out today when Brooke was thinking cancer. She always thinks of the worst possible outcomes, no idea where she gets that from." Punk laughed to himself remembering a number of times where Melissa did exactly that; waiting for her college acceptance letters was the worst as she was sure she'd have no other choice but Clown College because she'd scored under the genius average on her SATs. He caught site of her yawning and decided to make his departure.

"Go to bed Mel, you need all the rest you can get. I'll call you when I get home to check on you and Brooke, but if you need anything before then don't hesitate to call me." Melissa nodded walking over to give him a goodbye hug; she inhaled his scent smiling to herself and knowing in that minute what her answer was.

"If you are absolutely, positively serious about us moving in, then we accept, but it is only short term and you have to allow me to pay for some things, cook and clean." Melissa pulled away noticing the smirk on his lips.

"I think we can arrange something; after all the maid Nora hasn't had a vacation in a while, so she'd probably be relieved for a little time off. We'll discuss details this week, sound good?"

"That works for me, but if you change your mind at any time just please tell me; we're family, but in a very unconventional way, and I don't want to intrude in your personal life or space if you're not ready for that. I won't be offended if you change your mind…"

"As thoughtful as that is, I don't see it happening. I haven't thought this through too much, in fact I haven't at all, but I think it's the best thing for all of us. Brooke needs a familiar environment and you need less stress. Plus there's plenty of room for you, Brooke, the new baby…hell we can get a dog if you want." Melissa put up her hands laughing.

"I think you should get used to the idea of an infant before you even think about a puppy. I know I couldn't handle both at the same time, so you might want to save that idea until this little one arrives is seven months."

"I could handle two babies, a puppy, Brooke and my career with no problems because I'm awesome like that." Melissa shook her head patting his arm before making her way up the stairs to her bedroom.

"We'll see in seven months; good night Phil…"

* * *

Punk paced back and forth in his living room going over what he was going to say to Amy in his head. They weren't on the best of terms thanks to Punk lying to her followed by being absent from her birthday party for almost two hours, but rather then fighting about it, Amy had chosen to say nothing, making Punk feel much worse. It didn't help that he knew she didn't trust Mel and finding out that he was going to be a dad for a second time wouldn't help matters; dropping the bomb that Mel and Brooke were moving back to Chicago and into his house was most likely going to be the icing on the cake that was the end of their relationship.

Unable to think anymore, he found he didn't have to as Amy entered the house. She sat down on the love seat furthest away from him before taking a deep breath ready to get her emotions out in the open and find out exactly what was going on with Punk.

"We need to talk about the other night…" Punk nodded as he attempted to relax sitting on the couch and facing her. "It's obvious you didn't leave the house to get ice, so where did you go and why did you lie?"

Punk took a deep breath ready to expose the events of the last few days. "Let me start out by apologizing…again…I shouldn't have left the party the other night, but I got a text from Melissa saying she needed to talk to me about something."

Amy let out a sarcastic laugh, "How did I know it would have something to do with her? What did the princess need this time?"

"Please don't be like this; I explained to you that Melissa and I go way back, we have history together and I'm sorry Amy, but when she texts me and says she needs to see me to talk about something I can't just ignore it. I've tried, but I just can't…"

"Right…it just makes me wonder if you'd drop everything and come running if I needed you…"

"Now you're just being ridiculous! Of course I would! We've been friends for years and you're my girlfriend, I love you…" Amy let out a sigh debating saying what was really on her mind, but she knew if she kept it in things would just get worse for their relationship.

"I know you love me Phil, I've never questioned that, but what I do question is if you love me the way you love Melissa…" Punk was taken back by her words unsure how to respond, but without thinking he blurted out everything she needed to know.

"Amy I'm sorry that I have to tell you this, but the night of your party I found out that Melissa is pregnant and it's mine…" He briefly glanced at Amy noticing the tears coming from her eyes.

"When did this happen?"

"We weren't together at the time if that's what you're wondering…you know I'd never do that to you."

"No you'd never cheat on my physically, but you do it emotionally all the time. I know you never intended to hurt me with this news, but it does hurt. I've been talking to you for over a year about settling down and starting a family, but you've continuously shrugged me off and I've been patient. I understand that you're career comes first in your life, I can relate to that; then you found out about Brooke and as much as that stung I figured I could live with it, but I can't live with this."

"I'm sorry Amy; things were never supposed to go this way and even though you're hurting right now, I hope at some point you can forgive me for this and we can be friends again because that's what we were first and foremost." Amy stood up from the couch wiping at the tears falling down her face hating that things were ending this way.

"I need some time, but I'd actually like that too. As for Melissa, I think you need to work things out with her…" Punk was confused as he stood up to walk her to the door.

"Amy you don't understand, but that part of my life is over; Melissa and I are just friends, this whole second kid thing was a complete accident, and I don't see her that way anymore." Amy turned back toward him walking over and giving him a hug.

"Punk I know you pretty well and I've seen the way your eyes light up when you talk to or about her. You might think those feelings have passed, but I don't think you've even started to act on them."

Without another word Amy walked out the door leaving Punk standing in the living room feeling completely dumbfounded as well as emotionally exhausted. Deciding he needed sleep, he climbed the stairs falling hard onto the king sized bed but finding it impossible to fall asleep as Amy's words replayed in his head; maybe there was some truth to what she'd said.

* * *

**So a few were curious what was going to go down with Amy and here is the answer...unlike with Whatever Happens where I made her an evil witch that was dissed in the end, I'd like to bring her back periodically and give her a supportive role like Colt and the three C sisters have...we'll see how it goes, curious what you guys think of Amy's reaction and what she said about Melissa...please review and have a great week! :D**


	28. Chapter 28

**Tons of apologies for my delay in updating, but summer has been much busier then I expected it to be...it seems every time I pick up my laptop to start writing, I'm needed to go somewhere or do something and it's just been crazy!**

**This chapter is meh...I wasn't feeling it 100%, but I figured a little filler would help to further things as the next chapter Brooke and Melissa will be moving to Chi-town :)**

**Thanks for the reviews, even though I've been slacking, you guys have still be awesome and have continued to read and review :) Love you guys for that, you're awesome! Enjoy!**

* * *

After a number of tearful goodbyes, Melissa carried the last box from her office feeling hopeful that she was making the right decision for her and Brooke to move. Though it had taken a while, Brooke was mostly on board with the move, but still had some hesitations, ones that were about to get much worse.

Brooke sat quietly in the backseat pretending to listen to her mom babble on about everything that needed done. She still wasn't sure how to feel about all the changes that were coming her way in the next few months with moving to a different city, changing schools and gaining a sibling, but she'd decided to stop fighting her parents on it because their minds were set. The only upside is they'd promised her she could visit Jessica during the summer or Jessica could visit her in Chicago; the idea of spending her summers at her childhood home made her feel more at ease about everything.

In the midst of Brooke's thoughts, she noticed her mom had stopped talking to her and was now on the phone. At first she ignored the conversation, but talk of the house that she was looking forward to staying in during the summer caught her attention.

"Okay so the open house is Saturday from 12-3, it shouldn't be a problem for us to be out of the house. Thanks for everything Linda, I know I haven't given you a huge time frame to work with, but you're amazing for making it work."

Brooke scrunched her eyebrows together wondering what all of this talk of an open house was. With everything going on, Brooke had just assumed her mom would keep the house in California for them to stay in when they visited; she'd never mentioned anything about selling it.

Melissa pulled into the driveway and grabbed the groceries from the passenger seat noticing there was something off with Brooke. She took notice to the fact that her daughter hadn't listened to anything she said about their last minute to do list, which she found somewhat irritating. There was still a lot of things that needed to be done before they moved in a week and she needed Brooke's help to accomplish everything.

"Brooke can you please come help me in the kitchen?" Melissa yelled up the stairs feeling beyond exhausted. She'd forgotten what it was like being pregnant and between the bouts of nausea and constant need to rest, she found herself asking more and more of Brooke. Letting out a sigh, Brooke dropped her book bag on her bed and started back down the stairs feeling annoyed with her mother for various reasons, the main one being about the house.

Brooke began unloading the dishwasher at a rapid pace quickly finishing and attempting to run away before her mom asked something else of her, but Melissa caught her before she was out of the kitchen.

"Hey what is up with you? Did something happen at school?"

"No, school is great even though I don't see the point in going when I'm switching schools anyway."

"Brooke we discussed this, you have to go to school, it's the law. If it isn't school that's bothering you, what is?"

Brooke took a deep breath before taking a seat at the kitchen counter, "When were you going to tell me?" Melissa stopped chopping carrots looking at her daughter in confusion.

"Tell you what?"

"That you're selling the house…this is our house mom, you can't sell it." Melissa took a deep breath putting down the knife and putting her whole focus on Brooke.

"Sweetie I'm sorry I didn't say anything, I thought you knew."

"No I didn't know, or I wouldn't have agreed to moving."

"Brooke we've been over this; we have to go where my job is and my job is in Chicago, so regardless if you agree with this move you're going. I've already compromised so much to make this move easier for you agreeing to move into your dad's house…"

"I know that, but this is our house! Why are you selling it?"

"It's not cheap to live in the city nonetheless buy a house there and there's no way I can afford to pay two mortgages. I know this isn't easy for you, believe me it's not easy for me, but I don't have a choice here…my hands are tied." Brooke glared at her mother feeling angry and upset all at once as tears started to fall from her eyes, but as Melissa went to comfort her daughter, Brooke stormed off stomping up the stairs. Melissa let out a sigh taking a handful of deep breaths before going back to making dinner.

* * *

Brooke sat at the top of the stairs trying her best to eavesdrop on her mother's phone conversation with her dad. Punk had called to do his daily check in with Brooke and after only a few minutes asked to talk to Melissa; Brooke had become overly annoyed that her dad wasn't sympathetic to the fact that she was losing the only home she'd ever known proclaiming that her parents were ruining her life.

"I don't know what she expects me to do, but she's so back and forth; her attitude is out of control. I understand she's upset with all the changes going right now, but I can't stand the disrespect."

"I know, she's snapped at me a few times and I'm trying to talk her through and let her know everything will be fine, but I think this whole house thing is her breaking point."

"Well I don't have a choice in the matter Phil; believe me if I could afford to keep this house and buy another one I would, but it's just not feasible." Punk let out a sigh wishing that Melissa would let him help out financially, but she refused, something that made his life more difficult then it needed to be.

"We'll discuss matters when I get there Friday. Until then just try not to kill each other and keep packing; Colt is supposed to fly in Sunday and we'll get everything loaded up and moved."

"I will be so happy when this whole thing is done. I honestly don't know what I was thinking taking this job."

"You were thinking how great it would be for all of us to be in the same city and for you to be back home where you belong." Melissa couldn't help but smile a little bit; despite all the stress that resulted in the moving process, she was happy to be heading back to Chicago and knew it would be better for Brooke in the long run to have both of her parents in the same city.

"You're right, but I still wish I could snap my fingers and just have everything done."

"I don't want you to worry about anything other then packing; I'll take care of the rest. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Phil I'm sleeping anywhere from eight to ten hours and I'm still tired during the day. Between the exhaustion and the nausea, I'm a six on the miserable scale."

"Better you then me I guess…"

"You're such a jerk!"

"I am and you love it! Take it easy and as usual don't hesitate to call me; good night Mel."

"Good night Phil, I'll see you Friday." Melissa hung up the phone feeling a little relieved. It helped to know that she had reinforcements coming in and that she wasn't the only person Brooke was testing. Taking a deep breath and relaxing on the couch, she hoped everything went to plan and things started to fall back into place. Her eyes started to close as her body began to give into the exhausted feeling when Brooke appeared in front of her.

"Mom!"

Melissa jumped, her hand going to her racing heart. "Brooke why are you screaming?"

"You were asleep…"

"I was drifting off; you could've just tapped me gently. You seem to forget that I'm carrying your little brother or sister and therefore I need the least amount of stress right now. You yelling like that is not what I need."

Brooke rolled her eyes feeling that her mom was being overdramatic. "I'm sorry, but I came down to get my phone back and talk to dad."

Melissa had noticed the eye roll and felt a sudden urge to make Brooke understand what being miserable was like. "Your dad had to go, but he'll be here Friday; as for you I'm tired of the attitude and the constant eye rolling. I did not raise you to be this way and I understand that right now you don't know which way is up or down because of all the things that are about to change, but you have no idea how lucky you are. At the age of ten you have a roof over your head, food in your stomach, three game consoles, an iPhone and an iPod, plus thanks to your dad you can go to any WWE event you want to. As of today that is all gone until we move to Chicago and get settled; if you choose to change your attitude by then perhaps I'll give your things back, but until then realize you brought this on yourself."

Brooke scoffed at her mother as she scooped up her phone and an empty box. "You can't do this!"

"Watch me Brooke Marie! I'm tired of the disrespect and if this is what it takes for you to realize how nice you have it, then so be it." Melissa walked up the stairs and into Brooke's room subsequently unhooking her Wii, PS3 and Xbox gaming systems before also taking the cords for both her TV and DVD player. Brooke walked in to see her mom remove her iPhone charger as well as her iPod doc; she was speechless as her mom quietly walked out of the room with a box full of her favorite things.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Melissa ignored her closing the door behind her subsequently letting out the breath she'd been holding. Brooke had been grounded a handful of times, but this was the first time that Melissa took things from her; closing her eyes she hoped Brooke would learn something from it and things would get back to normal in time.


End file.
